I'm Sorry, But She's Your Neighbor Now
by SimplySarah1221
Summary: Yes, yet ANOTHER story with a music band, fangirls, and high school. It's different though...Chrno meets Rosette, they each have their own problems, and Chrno's recently boring life is turned completely upside down. CxR CHP13UP!
1. Unwanted Meeting

**Yes people, yet ANOTHER story with a music band, fangirls, and high school. (I know it's, like, so over-used)**

**However, I hope you find it different from the others! **

**(Note: I will absolutely NOT resort to making up last names….no siree…oh yeah, and everyone's 17 : )**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, Chrno's hair wouldn't be friggen purple. Sure he's cute and all but the purple just RUINS it all….ok onto the story…**

* * *

Chrno stepped out of the busy store onto the wet sidewalk. Dark clouds loomed above, threatening to spill more rain. Chrno sighed, acknowledging the awful weather and started to head home, feet splashing in an occasional puddle. The eccentric purple-haired boy walked along the sidewalk, ignoring the frequent flyer for the new band's _Nuns with Machine Guns's _first concert. 

He sighed again. He had no time for stuff like that. His daily routine being: Waking up, going to school, getting groceries, eating, and then sleep, left no space for extracurricular activities.

Basically, Chrno had no life whatsoever. However, that was going to change. He nonchalantly took the key out of his pocket to unlock his worn out apartment door, struggling to do this and hold his rather heavy groceries. Hey, he ate a _lot_ of meat. (and he could've just put them down but he's too stubborn)

Unfortunately, gravity caused him to lose his equilibrium and ….drop the groceries. Or so he thought. He waited for everything to spill out on the wooden floor so he would have to clean it up and apologize to the landlady profusely for the mess.

But that never happened. He opened his eyes and saw two bright blue eyes smirking back at him. Chrno jumped, not exactly expecting to see a face about a hair's width away from his face. I mean, he hadn't even seen her come before he dropped everything.

The girl that had startled him, laughed, of all things, and handed him his bags.

"You almost dropped these-"

"Oh tha-" he started.

"-and thankfully I was here to save your sorry little butt from having to clean everything

up." The blonde newcomer smirked, again, as the insulted boy huffed.

"Well _thank you."_ He angrily grabbed the bags from her and headed into his now unlocked place.

Expecting to never see this girl again, he rudely stuck out his tongue and slammed the door.

The girl stood there, unfazed, hands on her hips.

"Che. Hope he realizes I'm his new neighbor." She walked away to the door right next to his, chuckling.

* * *

**Next Day**

"WHAAATTT!" The hollering could be heard throughout the whole apartment building. "SHE'S MY NEIGHBOR!" There was a silence, probably someone replying in a normal volume voice. Then:

"I WILL ABSOLUTLEY _NOT!"_ Silence. Everyone upstairs, downstairs, and around Chrno's room strained to listen to what would happen next.

"BUT-BUT-!"

"WOULD YOU STOP YELLING CHEWBACCA? MY EARS ARE BLEEDING HERE!" Apparently, the poor old landlady had lost her patience.

There was more silence, a crash, a yell of:

"YOU WILL DO IT, AND _LIKE _IT!" then the sound of someone stomping down the stairs. The ordeal was over.

**Later**

The blonde girl from before, looking up from her guitar, got up to answer the knocking at her door. She trudged through the unpacked mess, which would probably be there for months. Possibly years.

The ever so familiar smirk returned to her face when she saw the sorry sight in front of her at the door.

"Well, hello there. Haven't we seen each other from before?" Chrno just narrowed his eyes in return.

"You know I heard all of that yelling before, sounded like you were fighting with some girlfriend of yours or something." She of course knew he had been yelling about her being his new neighbor.

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"Surprising. With those looks, you could reel in quite a few suckers."

Chrno huffed another breath ignoring her latest comment.

"I'm Chrno. No surname. Nice to _meet you_." He said the last two words with plently of resent.

The new neighbor, placed her guitar to the side, and curtsied in a mock fashion.

"_I _am Rosette Christopher, guitarist and singer of the band, _Nuns with Machine Guns._ I will soon be attending Magdalen High. Pleasure to meet you." Rosette smiled with fake sweetness, and prepared to close the door.

Chrno's foot caught the door. She looked up, waiting.

"Magdalen High? Band?" He cringed. That was HIS school. That was the band that he saw on all of those flyers before. Obviously, God was on a coffee break.

_Why me? _he thought.

"I'm guessing that's your school, huh?" she inquired.

He nodded.

Rosette laughed, shutting the door.

As he walked away, there was a distant:

"SUCKS FOR YOUUU!"

**A/N: KINDA Short…..oh well. So you're probably wondering what the landlady forced him to do. You'll see. Next'll be longer. Looks like Chrno's in for a hard rest of the year. Don't worry. They'll get closer (winkwink nudgenudge)**

**Please R&R**


	2. Keith?

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, Rosette and Chrno would have never died and had many demon/angel offspring….oh yeah and Azmaria would be less innocent. (hides list of past sins) :) Oh yeah and the lyrics below written by my friend, some lyrics borrowed from different songs. So I don't own those collected lyrics nor does my friend. :)**

* * *

_Riiiiiiiing!_

Chrno groaned, not wanting to wake up for stupid school.

_Riiiiiiing!_

Turning over, he stared at the alarm clock with distaste.

_Riiiiiing!_

He pressed the off button and stared at the torturous invention.

"I hate you." He was now resorting to talking to his alarm clock…fantastic.

Chrno threw himself out of bed, eyes only half open. He trudged to the bathroom, and started the water for a quick shower.

Stripping himself of the only thing he was wearing, his boxers, he stepped into the hot water, thinking about the day ahead.

_I never did my homework. Oh well. I've got a unit review in American Studies. An essay due in English in two days. A math test tomorrow. Oh yeah, and now I have to lead Miss Rosette around the school. Dammit, that landlady is such an annoying hag._

Finally, his shower done, Chrno went into his room to get dressed. He wore the usual, T-shirt and jeans and his hair in a really weird braid.

Grabbing two bagels, he left his room and knocked on Rosette's door.

_Knock. Knock._

"Rosette!" he called. He checked his watch. He really didn't want to be late.

_Knock. Knock._

"ROSETTE! I'm coming in!" he hollered hoping to get her attention.

He reached for the knob and turned it to see the terrible state her living place was in. Boxes thrown everywhere, clothes hanging randomly on pieces of furniture, sheets of music littering the floor, and Rosette, in the middle of it all, snoring her face off.

He moaned, realizing they WOULD be late for school. Tiptoeing through the unimaginable mess, he snuck of to the blonde beauty and yelled in her ear:

"RISE AND SHIIIIINE!" The effect was immediate. Chrno never had time to react when her head jerked up with so much speed that she head butted him in the nose.

"HOLY CRAP! Who is it!" Rosette looked around for the rapist, molester, whatever it was only to see Chrno. On the floor. Clutching his face.

"Ahhhhhhh Rosette….my nose is bleeding. Damn you….that hurt…." He took his hand away from his nose to show that he was in fact bleeding. Quite a lot.

"Oh my god! I'm sorry!" she said showing a bit of concern for the first time since they met.

Tripping over all of her crap along the way, she rushed to her "kitchen" which was actually a mess of still packed up groceries. She looked through the mess for a pack of tissues, and eventually found one.

She came back several minutes after the actual ordeal happened to find Chrno leaning his head back and reading one of her rough draft lyrics.

A blush suddenly found its way to her face, well because, those were _her_ personal lyrics. Her thoughts.

"U-uh….here's some tissues…" she said hastily.

Chrno looked up at her, still in her pjs. He grabbed a tissue, squeezed his nose and continued to read.

"Go get dressed. We're already late." He gestured towards her indecent look.

"Uh, oh right. OK." She scurried from the room a little embarrassed.

Chrno watched her hastily exit the room and wondered what had gotten into her. He put the sheet of lyrics above his head and read more.

_I've come to realize  
you're the only thing I want now,  
My tears don't seem to fall,  
But somehow, I'm drowning.  
With this last breath,  
I'm choking.  
Would you hear me,  
If I called your name? _

Chorus  
Untold is my pain  
You'll never understand.  
How could you, really?  
I think I need to see you again,  
I know you won't notice me, though.  
What is this feeling exactly?  
Is this love?  
Or is it just lust?

Whoa, whoa, whoa

He's never coming home.  
It's like a dream 'outta reach.  
I never thought it'd be this way,  
Just me and you, here but never alone.  
Why can't I tell you what I've been thinking?

Chorus  
Untold is my pain  
You'll never understand.  
How could you, really?  
When you don't even know I exist.

_(There were many crossouts on the page, and the lyrics were mixed around so it was a little difficult for Chrno to read)_

* * *

Eventually, Rosette appeared, dressed and ready.

Chrno looked up from the paper, checked his watch to see they were 20 minutes late and decided to take their time on the way.

He looked at her, dressed.

"I don't mean to sound all fancy shmancy, but you look absolutely _stunning._" Of course he wasn't exactly in the position to say that, his nose bleeding all over the place and all.

"Damn…you have a really hard head!" he complained after the bleeding subsided.

"Aw shut it. It's your fault for coming inside my room and scaring the shit outta me." she retorted, back to her normal self. If that's what you would call a girl _normal._

He sighed. Rosette walked over to the other side of the room to get her backpack and they left the building.

"So are you ready to get going?" he asked, gesturing down the road. She gaped.

"Is it really that far?"

"Yeah, I walk that distance everyday."

"Ohhhh are you bragging? Let's see if you have a six-pack!" Rosette teased, starting to lift his shirt but he pulled out of her grasp, annoyed.

"Rosette! Stop. We've got to get going." He turned around and started walking.

"Geez, Chroooo-noooo stop. I'll just call Keith." She pulled out her cell phone, and started dialing a number. She idly kicked around in a nearby puddle.

_Keith? A brother? Friend?_

"Hey, Keith?"

Silence.

"Yeah, I'm kinda late for school….can you give us a ride?"

Silence.

"Oh, my new neighbor, Chrno."

Silence.

"Aw don't be like that, we're just standing here. He's just my neighbor and we happen to be going to the same school."

Silence.

"Oh thanks so much! Okay….see you in a few minutes…love ya."

_Click._

Rosette turned around, beaming. Chrno stood, waiting.

"Good news. Keith can come pick us up! So we'll just be waiting a few minutes. He's on break from one of his morning recordings."

_What a sudden change in mood. _Chrno thought.

"So…who's…Keith?" he asked.

_She ended the conversation with 'love ya.' A boyfriend maybe? …Well, it's not like I expected her not to have one…she's really pretty…and-WHOA…hold on a minute. I didn't think that….I've only known her for 2 days!_

"Oh he's my bandmate…remember I told you? Our band? ….He's also…my boyfriend." She blushed at the last part, a bit flustered.

The blonde waited for a response, but saw that Chrno had fallen deep into thought. She waved a hand in front of his face.

"Hellooo? Did you even hear me?" He looked up.

"Huh? Oh yeah….your boyfriend…So when is he going to get here?" he received his answer when a small car, a little beat up and dented, pulled up.

The window rolled down, revealing….a man. Different from the _teenager_ he had in mind, Chrno gaped. Boyfriend? This guy had to be a little over thirty!

The man looked Chrno up and down, making Chrno feel a little invaded. The man had short blonde hair, and blue eyes, similar to Rosette. He chewed gum in a very "cow-like" fashion, and had a sneer plastered onto his face, a lot more vicious than the one that Rosette usually sported. However, the hardness was replaced with a soft smile when he looked over and saw Rosette.

"Hey honey. Come over here and give me a kiss." She smiled nervously and walked over, obeying.

Chrno looked away, disgusted. She was seventeen. What was she doing with this guy? When he saw that it was appropriate enough for a seventeen-year-old virgin like him to look, he walked towards the car, trying to seem not so…shaken up.

"Keith's" frown returned.

"So, I hear you were going to take my Rosette to school with you." He asked accusingly.

"H-yes. I was actually. Our landlady instructed me to help her out for awhile." Chrno laughed nervously.

The man gave Chrno a long hard look until Rosette gave him a little nudge.

"Get in the car you two." They did and he started to drive. Every few minutes, the man would look right at Chrno in the rearview mirror as he stared back.

Rosette, the whole ride, looked down at her feet, looking a bit ashamed for some reason.

* * *

They finally arrived at Magdalene High of New York City a very large labyrinth of a school. As Keith drove away, and Rosette waved, Chrno started walking up the stairs to face whatever punishment he was going to receive.

"Chrnoooo! Wait up!" he heard a call behind him. He turned around, impatient.

"Hurry up Rosette!" she finally caught up to him, pouting a little. His mood had suddenly gotten sour after the ride and Rosette was a little annoyed. She didn't want to follow a ticked-off shortie all day.

She stopped him in his tracks. "Hey! What's WRONG?" she demanded.

He glared at her.

"Nothing."

"You're lying."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Come on you little purple-haired weirdo…what's _up?_"

"Nothing, _big breasted hag_." She gasped and he walked around her, still traveling up the high stairs of the school entrance.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?"

He turned around, smiling a big mischievous smile.

"You heard me. Come on. Let's just get to second period." He had won that round. As he walked into the school, leaving behind a fuming Rosette, a frown returned to his face, as Keith's sneering face popped into his mind.

"Hmph. What is she doing with that old fart? Just because they're bandmates…"

"MR. CHRNO!"

Chrno jumped and looked around to see the science teacher looking very mad.

"You are LATE. Now, get ready for the day, and get to class! And when you see me sixth period, I would like a word with you. Now, go!"

He apologized and ran off to his locker, wondering if Rosette had even followed him into the building.

* * *

**I realize this chapter was a little boring, but it'll get better! (I say that at the end of every chapter…when will I live up to my word?)**

**R&R! (no flaaames :)**


	3. Detention

**Hehehe third chapter whooo! My personal editor helped me come up with _great_ ideas so I hope you enjoy this chapter I have brought to you.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Chrno Crusade names/characters…only the actual plot…**

**On with the storryyyyyy…..**

After being scolded by the science teacher for being late, Chrno walked to his locker to get his books for the day.

_First period…English…after that…Calculus…WHERE did Rosette go?_

He never had time to ponder his last thought, because right then, the bell rang for everyone to get to their first class. The excited chatter of students soon filled the hallway.

In class, while the teacher called attendance, Chrno thought about Keith. Keith. _KEITH. _The name repeated over and over again until it made him hate the name, the actual _person. _The man who chewed gum like a cow, so old that it made Chrno sick to think that Rosette was with him! Why was she with him?

"Mark Louis?"

"Yeah."

"Chrno?"

"Huh? Oh, yes here!"

"Pay attention Chrno…Rosette Christopher?" the teacher scolded.

There was a silence until Chrno realized he had called Rosette's name.

The teacher started ruffling through papers and when he found the right one, he looked right at Chrno, with his magnifying glasses.

"Chrno? Your landlady told me that you'd be taking our new student everywhere…where is she?"

_Ah great. Marie (obviously the landlady) was serious about making me look after her. Jeez, what do I tell the teacher?_

"Uh, I was pretty sure sh-she followed me into the school. But then again…I…." he trailed off.

The teacher shook his head.

"Well, it can't be helped; I'm sure she'll find her way to the main office and locate you. Now class, take out your notes from last week. I hope you studied. We're having a review."

The class groaned as usual, ninety-five percent of the class were kids who never did their homework but were somehow smart enough to make it to the higher class.

_I hope the teacher's right. Marie'll kill me if I lose Rosette. _

The day dragged on, Rosette never calling from the office nor appearing during classes. Soon, Chrno lost interest in wondering where she was and did his daily routine of going from class to class, saying 'hey' to a few acquaintances, but basically nothing that amazing.

He would have forgotten Rosette's disappearance all together if it hadn't been for a familiar voice whispering his name during History.

"Pssst! Chrnoooo!" the voice whispered.

Lifting his head up from his thick textbook, Chrno looked around looking for the source of the noise.

"Over here!"

He saw her. Peeking in through the window. _Through the outside._

_She never even went into school! I saw her coming up the stairs behind me thought! _Thought Chrno, now very pissed off.

"Rosette!" he hissed. "What are you doing out there?"

The blonde only smiled in return, holding up a carton of raspberries. So that's where she went.

"I loooove raspberries…" she whispered back, blushing with excitement.

He smacked his hand to his head, feeling very frustrated.

"CHRNO! Would you like to repeat what I just said, if you feel you can listen _and _look out of the window at the same time?" the history teacher snapped.

Looking back out the window to see that the girl's head was gone, he stuttered:

"Uhm…the Revolutionary War ended in 1783…uh…" The whole class laughed at his attempt to repeat what the teacher said.

The teacher shook her head.

"Yes, you are correct in saying when the _Revolutionary _War ended, BUT, Mr. Chrno we are talking about the French Revolution, which ended in 1799, lasting ten years…please see me after class."

More laughter.

Chrno groaned, putting his head down, mentally cursing Rosette. Another hour of detention from another teacher!

**Later (After school detention)**

Picking up the dustpan full of dust, Chrno grumbled all the way to the garbage, thinking about all of the homework time he was losing. Two hours! One from history, the other from the science teacher that caught him coming to school late.

Marie, being his dead parents' old friend and also his landlady, would be worried. Chrno didn't even own a cell phone to call her on.

After a few more minutes of cleaning the classroom, Chrno now bored, stopped to rest and waste time.

That was when Rosette walked in, now with a half empty box of raspberries.

There was a silence.

"Need some help?"

"No."

"Want a raspberry?"

"I don't eat fruit."

"Yeah…it's kinda my fault you're here."

"Basically, yeah."

"You're pissed at me aren't you?"

"Pretty much."

"So….I'm sorry…"

"That's too bad."

"…."

"…"

"You're a fag."

"You're a hag."

"…"

"…"

"Well then I guess you don't need my help." Rosette started walking away but not after he grabbed her hand, making her flush a little.

"What?" she demanded.

"I have to keep you with me." he said, handing her a broom. "Re.mem.ber?" he said, poking her chest with every syllable .

"Wait, you're landlady told you that, right?"

"Mmm." Chrno absentmindedly answered, starting to sweep again.

They continued the rest of the detention, sweeping and dusting in silence. Finally two hours passed, and Chrno was allowed to leave. Along with Rosette of course.

After leaving the school, and stepping into the warm sunlight of the outside, the two gave a big sigh of relief.

"Heh, imagine if you had to do all of that by yourself." Rosette snickered, walking ahead.

He gaped.

_And I thought we were getting along well…Christ almighty…._

The beep of a car interrupted Chrno's irritated thoughts. He looked over to see Rosette, leaning into the car, talking to…._Keith. _Keith. Keith. KEITH.

"Why am I getting so frustrated?" he mumbled to himself. "Oh yeah, because it's very unnatural for a friggen seventeen year old to be with some guy twenty years older!"

He didn't notice Rosette walking back to him, her steps being the only sound on the now hot pavement.

"Hey, what are you mumbling to yourself?" she asked.

"Uh, nothing….so what did _Keith_ have to say?" he scrunched up his nose at his name.

"Nothing much, just that he thinks I'm dating you behind his back even though I've only known you for, like, three days." She giggled at the last comment, and turned around to wave goodbye to the retreating car.

"Come on, let's get walking, slowpoke!"

"Yeah, yeah…" he grumbled.

And the two began their walk back home…

**Hello…how'd you like it? I'm running low on brain fuel this late at night…:p…next chapter…things.will.get.serious. (or the chapter after that…I'm just not sure anymore..)**

**So yeah, I'll try to update everyday…(which is very possible with all the time I have) …you can check usually around midnight to see a new one posted…so…keep reading!**

**Oh yeah …please review! (ideas appreciated)**


	4. Unpacking and Impressing

**Whoa….fourth chapter…on the third day…wowie….**

**Misogirl: Sleep? I am a foreigner to this word…what is this 'sleep' you speak of?**

**writes down to look up in dictionary later**

**Snekochan: okok I am a big hater of purple. Do not ask me why. But I will keep my opinion to myself. Color contrast is cool. Oh yeah and thanks for the ideas…(we actually used one)**

**Olynara Sedai: I really am not sure if Rosette will _ever _end up going to school…but maybe…possibly…(never knoooowww)**

**ON.TO.NEW.AND.LONGER.CHAPTER.YAY!!!**

* * *

"How about this one?" asked Rosette holding up an apple. Chrno grabbed it from her.

He squeezed it and shook his head.

"Too soft and squishy." He threw the fruit back with the others.

She hmphed.

"Ahh you're too damn picky."

"No, you just don't know how to shop."

"Well, who made you so experienced?" she demanded, following him to the deli counter. After ordering, he started for the bread. (he got a lot a meat)

"I've had to since I was thirteen. When my parents died, their close friend, which happens to be our landlady, let me live in one of her rooms. Currently, I use the money my parents left me to survive but Marie controls how much I get." he picked up a grape to try it.

"Oh well, that sucks." She admitted.

"…I guess…you get used to it." Chrno answered simply. The two were now at the cashier, waiting to pay. A cheerful young girl with a red apron waited to scan their food.

"Help me load." Rosette placed the fruit, meat, bread, and milk on the conveyor belt as Chrno paid. The girl with the red apron bid them farewell and they left to resume their walk back home.

* * *

"So do you do this everyday?"

"No…I get enough to last about three days…why? What do _you_ do?" he asked, moving out of the way for a jogger.

"Well…I usually just go out to eat for meals…a lot faster than me cooking. I'd probably burn the whole building down." She laughed.

A ringing interrupted their conversation. It was Rosette's cell phone. She struggled with the bags to try and reach the phone in her jeans pocket. Since they had been standing along the edge of the sidewalk, she nearly toppled over from her loss of equilibrium (A/N I love that word) if it hadn't been for Chrno catching her wrist.

Now there was a dilemma. Both of them leaning their weight backwards, holding very heavy bags, and the phone still ringing, they had a difficult time trying to get themselves to stand up.

"OK….on three, we both lean forward quickly…" Rosette nodded and giggled at his instruction.

"One…two…three!" The plan worked, they were both on their feet. Except a little to close for comfort. There faces about one inch away from each other.

_She smells good. _Chrno thought. Until he realized the situation.

"Oh! Uh…sorry." He stepped back, letting Rosette retrieve her ever so persistent phone. As soon as he had stepped back, she had turned her back on him, so he didn't really know what she was thinking…or whether she was embarrassed or not for that matter.

"Hello?"

….

"What?"

….

"I took a detour, I just stopped at the store."

….

"Right NOW??"

….

The blonde sighed.

….

"Do I have to BE with you every minute?"

….

"Rehearsal isn't until tomorrow!!"

….

"I'm not."

….

"WHY would you think that?"

….

"Holy shit, he's.just.my.neighbor. GOODBYE!"

She slammed her phone shut, annoyed.

"WHO does he think he _is_??" she yelled at the now shut off phone. She started to walk ahead, home.

"Chrno are you _coming? _I'm not going to take your bags by myself!"

He stammered. "Uh-Y-yeah! Coming!"

Chrno rushed after her, his sneakers beating against the pavement. The crowd bustled past them, both of them walking together in a silence.

* * *

They got to the apartment building, exhausted.

"Do walk back in the snow??" Rosette asked, panting after the quick run through the last of the crowd.

He nodded, opening the door. He gestured towards the inside.

"After you."

"Thanks." She grunted with the bags up the stairs after they were both inside of the cool, air-conditioned entrance.

"Let's take the elevator." He agreed, wholeheartedly.

"Do you want me to help you put the groceries away?" she offered when they reached her door, her's being closest to the stairs and elevator.

"Nah, I'll just put them inside my room." Chrno started to walk away but Rosette stopped him.

"Wait, when you're done, come in here, I have to give you something."

"Alright. Gimme a few minutes." She nodded and went inside of her place.

She leaned against the door, her eyes closed.

_Wow he's sexy. _

Rosette laughed to herself, then went into her bedroom to find what she was looking for.

* * *

_Knock. Knock._

"Rosette?"

_KNOCK. KNOCK._

"I'm going to come in." he came in, the same mess from this morning still there. (flashback to nosebleed scene XD)

But no Rosette.

He heard crashes and bangs coming from the other room and followed them. Chrno's feet creaking on the hardwood floor, he looked into the bedroom, where he found Rosette making out with Keith.

Just kidding.

Actually, she was just rummaging through her still packed up boxes.

"UGHH I.MUST.UNPACK.TODAY!!" Rosette grinded her teeth.

"Rosetteee." Chrno said, interrupting her search. "Want help with that? I owe you for helping me with the bags."

She turned around, smiling a VERY big smile.

"Would you??? That'd be GREAT!" she jumped up, squeezing the life out of him.

"Eh…R-ros….A-air...ca-t..brea-s-s-ts…" he gasped out. Breasts could really suffocate people…especially if they were extra…large…

"Oh… sorry! Now…that thing I was looking for…we'll have to unpack to find it."

Chrno groaned. "Everything?"

She nodded.

"Yup. I didn't label any of the boxes so I don't know where anything is…" she trailed off, looking at all of the boxes.

He stared at her.

"You have no organization skills whatsoever I'm guessing…"

"Pretty much."

"So…should we get started?"

"Mmm."

Both getting down on their knees, they each picked a box to open and sort through.

_Hmm…let's see…box one…_

Chrno grabbed a large box on the mattress, and took out his room keys to open it.

_Oh whaddya know, lingerie…wonderful…oh yeah bras and underwear and…**whoa**…o..k..._

"Uhh Rosette, why don't _you_ go through this?" suggested Chrno nervously. Would she think he was a pervert?

She turned around. "Oh. Thanks…." She said with a grin, and threw the box in the corner of the room.

"….pervert…"

"I-I'm NOT!"

"Why are you all red?"

"Uhh…'cuz it's hot in here."

"Yeah, because you're in here."

"Mmmhmm, I hope that's not a lame compliment telling me I'm hot."

Rosette laughed at the nonchalance of his comment. This guy was so weird!

* * *

They continued to look through all of the boxes for the rest of the night. Finding clothes, pictures, school stuff, books, (not that she really read) hats, CDs, one more guitar, mountains of music, tapes, and more stuff that someone would need to…"survive."

However, Rosette was having a difficult time finding the thing that she wanted to show her new buddy.

"Chrnoooo I.CANT.FIND.IT! WHAT TIME IS IT? I DIDN'T UNPACK THE CLOCK YET. GREAT! WHERE.THE.FUCK.IS.IT?" she was obviously getting very frustrated at her unorganization.

"ROSETTE! Relax. I'm sure it's not that important." He assured.

She frowned. "I guess." She slumped, her hands digging deeper into her pockets.

Suddenly, her blue eyes lit up.

"I found it!" she exclaimed, pulling something out of her….pocket…

Chrno gaped.

"We…did…all of that…when…it was…???" he sat down, in shock.

Rosette walked over, ignoring the irritation vibes coming from the short purple-haired cutie. She waved a slip of paper in his face, waiting for a reaction.

"I have a request."

"What?"

"Will you pleeeaaaaseee come to our band's first concert? We've done recording, single tracks…and everything except a live concert…and it'd be awesome if you were there…" she begged.

He grinned.

"Show me how good you are… then _maybe'll_ consider."

A surprised look crossed her face. That was what he wanted?

"So, you promise you'll come if you hear me?"

"Yeah…if you can reach my expectations…."

"YOU.ARE.ON!!" she exclaimed. Walking out of the room to get her guitar, Chrno noticed something on the ground by a pile of shoes. A book. It was brown, made of leather.

He carefully walked over to it and saw that the cover said in big, black,_ violent_ letters:

NO ONE FUCKING READS THIS

He smirked. Sounded just like Rosette. Just as he was about to open it, the blonde walked into the room, wearing a cocky smile. He quickly shoved the book in his pocket before she could see.

"Ready to be impressed?"

"Come on, impress me…" Rosette laughed and hunkered down with her dear instrument.

"Alright!"

* * *

**Ohhhh seven pages on micro word STILL didn't seem enough….grr**

**Oh well…you'll never guess what happens next…teehee…**

**Review **


	5. The First Entries Read

**I failed to fulfill my promise…I did not update last night for the following reasons**

**My friend lost the ROUGHDRAFT **

**I broke my leg ….and my arm…and my cornea…and….um…**

**I had to study profusely for two big tests (That got rescheduled!!!!)**

**and…my mother was like "grrr… get off the computer and study!!"**

**So yeah sorry….enough with the excuses!!**

**Disclaimer: Did I even put one in the last chapter?? Oh well, here's one for this one, and if I didn't put one in the last one….yeah…**

**ON WITH THE CHAPTER!**

Chrno groaned. What was so hard underneath his back? With his eyes still closed, he felt all around him to realize that he had fallen asleep on the floor. Lovely.

He opened his eyes, still groggy from sleep. The room he was in was dark. Where was he? Home? Why was he on the floor?

A blurred vision of Rosette asleep against the wall with her guitar still on her lap registered in his mind.

Rosette's apartment? When did he fall asleep?

Chrno groaned again, his back stiff and his arms sore. His throat hurt too. Why? He got up to find he light switch, stumbling over the now empty, unpacked boxes.

Ah yes, now he remembered…last night they had-

A ringing interrupted his thoughts. Rosette's snoring abruptly stopped. He watched as she sat up, groping for her cell phone. She found it in her pants pocket, and brought it up to her ear, eyes still closed.

"Hello?"

…..

"Dave?"

…..

"Yeah I just did."

…..

"I dunno…I never unpacked the clo-"

…..

"WHAT??"

…..

"No…freaking….way…"

…..

"UGH!!"

…..

"Alright…sorry…Tell them I'll be there in an hour…"

…..

"Bye."

She flipped the cell phone shut and sighed, leaning against the wall for a minute. Chrno finally found the light switch and when he turned the light on, Rosette blinked…looking around.

She caught sight of Chrno and smiled sleepily and stretched.

"Gooood morning."

"Good morning." She trudged to the kitchen and motioned for Chrno to follow her. "Who was that?"

"Oh…that was Dave…he's the guy who plays the drums in our lil' band. He called to tell me that I wasn't at the school when they came to pull me out for an important meeting. It's 12 in the afternoon. Guess we're skipping school now…"

"What?? It's _that _late?" Chrno exclaimed. She nodded slowly. With her hair messed up, her eyes partly closed, and her clothes still on from yesterday, Rosette looked quite comical but Chrno bit back his urge to laugh. He was sure he looked the same.

"Hmm…skipping school…I haven't done that in awhile…" Chrno reminisced as Rosette watched him curiously through the corner of her eye, while she attempted to make coffee.

She sat down with two mugs. She drank from hers first, turning a little green.

Not noticing her disgusted expression, he reached for his cup and took a sip. It was funny…first his face scrunched up a little, his eyes widened then squinted shut, and then he spit it out, making gross sounds.

"This tastes like liquid shit."

"I am aware of that."

They stared at each other for a minute, both wanting to run in the bathroom and puke.

"WHAT did you put in there???" he demanded.

"I dunno…I wasn't really paying attention.."

"…"

"…"

"So, what's this thing you have to go to for your band?" he asked trying to be a gentleman for once and change the subject.

"Practice for that concert…I'm really excited for it…" Rosette smiled.

"Ah, well I'm sure you'll do good…"

"Yup…"

"Uh-huh…"

"…"

"…"

"Oh! I've got to get ready now! Chrno you're coming with me!" she hollered, running into the bathroom. "You can go to your room and get ready or use my shower after me, okay?"

Rosette closed the bathroom door behind her.

Chrno sighed.

_Well I've got nothing better to do…I guess I'll just go…but her singing last nigh-_

Chrno felt something hard in his pocket when he sat down at the kitchen table again. He reached into the pocket and pulled out the diary that he never read.

_I wonder what's in it?...I've got the chance now, she just got in the shower…_

"Chnrooo!!!" her yell made him jump. "Can you pass me a towel from the other room?"

He sighed. Good thing he was here.

He walked to the bedroom, and went through the pile of towels to find the right-sized one.

Grabbing one, he walked back into the hall and knocked on the door.

"Rosette, here's the towel."

She opened it, shielded by the door.

"Ah, thanks…" she closed the door and left Chrno standing in the hallway. He looked around. The apartment was a lot neater than last night. There were piles of empty boxes in every corner, and some things were actually put away.

He wandered into her bedroom looking at all of her belongings that he had helped unpack. He wondered how she even afforded living in this apartment.

The simple green comforter had been placed on her mattress, and as he sat down on it, he heard the creaky springs whine in protest just like his own did.

_I should go take a shower myself and change._

With that, Chrno left the room and went next door to get ready.

Water from his long _purple_ hair dripped onto the wooden flooring as Chrno walked into his bedroom fresh from the shower. He threw some clothes on and just as he was about to rush out of his apartment trying to get his shoes on, he stepped on his jacket that he had been wearing before. He felt something hard and square in the pocket.

_The diary, _he thought.

Listening to see if Rosette was coming to see where he was, he grabbed the book and sat down to read. He laughed mischievously, wondering what he would find.

He flipped to the first page and saw the date above was from over a year ago.

_She was sixteen when she got this, _Chrno guessed.

_6/3/05_

_My roommate in the orphanage gave me this about a year ago. A year ago. I've had this for a year and now I want to use it. A year ago, I lived in the orphanage, getting taught there, with my friend Cecile…No one wanted some rowdy, tomboy-ish teenager. Not until Mrs. Raine came. With her son Dave. She took me as her daughter and Dave accepted me as a sister. He's two years older than me. I'm close to him though. He's really cool. His mom…my mom is a really wonderful woman. I felt so loved when they said they wanted me. _

_Now, Dave, me, Nick, and Keith are in a band. Not exactly the popular top-the-charts band…but not a garage band either. We started about a few months ago. I was singing one day to myself and Dave heard me and asked if I wanted to in a band with his buddies…_

_Keith is really nice to me. He's a lot older than me…but…I don't know…he's-_

Chrno stopped, not really wanting to read on. He skipped a bit before the middle of the book.

He looked at the date. It was four months after the first entry.

_10/14/05_

_He did it again. I'm so confused. He acts jealous everytime I hang out with out with other guys…he gets kinda scary. He being Keith. He's been drinking a lot lately, missing our band practices, and well….he seems so distant to me down…is he thinking about the age thing again??_

_10/16/05 _

_I hid another bruise today with cover-up….I really don't want Keith to get in trouble…but he's such a jerk-off sometimes! It annoys me to no end. The only time he's the old Keith I fell in love with is when he's singing with me. He even smiles. Dave says he's just acting a little annoyed and it happens every once in awhile. He has no idea…Nick, our other guitarist is really quiet. I've known him for a few months and I still don't know that much about him…ah well.._

Chrno grinded his teeth. One more reason to hate KEITH. He'd only known Rosette for a handful of days but…

"Chrno!!! Where are you? I have to go now and you're coming with me!!" he heard her knocking at the door, and shoved the diary under the **covers of his bed.** Now he was a little annoyed with this guy she 'loved.'

He opened the door, his 'angry' face still on. Chrno must have not have noticed but when he opened the door, Rosette flinched at his expression.

"Uh did I _interrupt _something? Have a fight with your _girlfriend?" _she teased, wiping away her momentary fear.

"…Y-yeah…let's go…" said Chrno not really paying attention, his mind still on the diary. Rosette watched as he started down the stairs distracted.

He turned around, a sudden smile on his face.

"Coming or not?"

Was it just her? Or did her heart thump really hard that second?

"Ha! 'Course, you were so slow, we're already late!" she hollered back.

_Why?_

_Why is it that I,_

_Can't seem to get you_

'_Outta my mind?_

_Do, _

_You really feel _

_That way for her?_

_When my feelings are so dear?_

_Who are we really?_

_What are we gonna do?_

_When are we gonna be 'us?'_

_When will it stop just being you?_

_Why is this so hard?_

_How will you know what_

_We should feel?_

_These are questions,_

_That remain untold._

_I'm not who you think I am._

_Will _

_You ever feel this same confusion?_

_Would you ever,_

_Get down on one knee,_

_Just for me?_

_He's gone,_

_Why?_

_Run away…_

_Where?_

_Grabbed some stuff,_

_What?_

_...Left not too long ago…_

_When?_

_Traveling far,_

_How?_

_He's not coming back…_

_Who?_

**Ohhh whatcha gonna do now? Kill me for making it so short? Oh well…will that night when she tried to impress him ever be revealed? What DID she sing? Was he even impressed? (I'm asking myself these question…) See, my ideas…come as I'm writing so…(technically typing)**

**Thank you Jessy for the lyrics..:)**

**Oh and I'd like to thank Heejae for inspiring me…not that he did but ya know he's just cool like tht…**


	6. Short Introductions

**Disclaimer: uhnnnn so...tired….dont own Chrno Crusade or characters…that sucks**

**Note: If you guys all hate Keith…that's the whole point. Good job…if you despise him with all of your heart…I will make him more hateful in the future –grins-**

**Note II: It's Keith. K-E-I-T-H! I'm seeing the weirdest ways of spelling the name and I am a spelling nazi. Seriously. (That's what my friends call me anyway)**

**Sorryy...its so short  
**

**

* * *

**

"Geez, Chrno you're so slow!" Chrno and Rosette walked through the parking lot of an unmarked, brick building. It was very sunny today and school would have been half over by now. While Rosette walked ahead, her guitar slung over her shoulder, Chrno's mind drifted to the entries he had read earlier.

_I wonder if he's nicer to her now?_

_This 'brother' that she has now sounds nice though._

"CHRNOOOO!" A sudden holler straight into his ear startled Chrno. His ears still ringing, he growled at Rosette.

"What did you do THAT for?" he yelled.

"You weren't paying attention!"

"Really, Rosette, why are you always picking fights. You're lucky I don't get angered easily…"

"Oh really? Should I consider that to be my new goal?" she smirked, and opened the door for the two of them.

"Ah…" he gave up, and followed her in.

"Ohh you're going to love our bandmembers. I never told you about Dave. He's my brother and he's the drummer. Then there's Nick who's the other guitarist, next to me. I also sing with Keith…"

"Yeah…I know."

"What was that?"

"Um-uh…I said that I was-"

Rosette cut him off.

"Ah! Dave! I was just telling Chrno about you!" A young man walked up, almost white hair with dark eyes. He had on a genuine smile and when he walked up, Rosette gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Chrno?" he inquired after greeting his sister.

"Yeah. I was _telling _you about him but you obviously don't listen. He's my neighbor in that apartment building I just moved into. He's pretty cool." She winked at the just mentioned neighbor.

"Nice to meet you…Dave?" he shook his hand.

"Heh, welcome to our humble band. Well, soon we won't be." He spread his arms out to show the empty stage. It took up the whole room, which took up the whole building.

The three walked up the stairs that led to the stage and looked at all of the seats in front of them.

"Wow…" said Chrno, his voice echoing around the large room. A sound from the farther side of the room caught their attention.

A dark boy with a guitar walked in. He quietly walked through the seats and up the side steps to where they were.

Rosette walked up to him.

"Nick! This is Chrno, my new neighbor from that place I just moved to." Nick looked up, gave a little wave to Chrno and went backstage to do something. (Whatever that was)

Rosette shrugged, then smiled walking towards Chrno.

"We'll be here for about an hour or two." You can stay or just walk around. There's not really much to see." Then she walked away to set up with the other guys.

Chrno smiled at her retreating back and walked down the stairs to walk around the seating area.

The ceiling was very high, and his footsteps echoed all around. Other than that, like Rosette said, there wasn't much to see.

_Where did I put that diary anyway?..._

He felt around in his coat pocket to see if he had shoved it in there. No luck. Then he remembered:

_Short Flashback_

"_Chrno!!! Where are you? I have to go now and you're coming with me!!" he heard her knocking at the door, and shoved the diary **under the covers of his bed.**_

_End Short Flashback_

Ah, so he had put it under the blanket of his bed. Oh well. Looked like he had nothing to read now.

Chrno continued to walk around, a bit towards the entrance. He decided to step outside since it was so stuffy in the stageroom.

"Rosette!" he called, his voice bouncing off the walls.

"Yeah?" she called back from backstage.

"I'm going to outside for a minute!"

"Mmk! We'll be another 10 minutes. We're just waiting for Keith!"

He started for the door after her reply, and just as he was about to turn the knob to leave the room, it opened to reveal Keith, himself.

His eyes narrowed at Chrno and he scowled, causing Chrno to frown. Keith pointed a finger at him.

"What the heck are _you _doing here?"

* * *

**Christ…that was TERRIBLY short…oh geez oh geez…meh I'm too tired, maybe I'll spend the whole day updating tomorrow…(can't promise anything) So yeah thanks for your patience…-sweatdrops-**

**Note III: This is a chapter to basically start a "mini" cliff-hanger, and introduce the band members …I also wanted to remind everyone where the diary was…(hinhint?)**

**Holy crap not like that you perverts!!**

**(or maybe _I _was just thinking that…yeah I'm rambling here aren't I?...I need sleep -.-)**

**You know what I'm gunna ask for: reviews can be: ideas, suggestions, and _praise for my writing _accepted….(last part not really serious )**


	7. Things Start Getting Ugly

**Wow, I can't believe it…chapter seven already…well I've realized that the faster people update. The harder it is for readers to keep up so…not to confuse anyone, I'll probably update every other day or so…but keep reading!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Chrno Crusade or it's characters….(and I say this in every disclaimer over&over…) if I DID there would be wayyy more sexual tension…haha I love that phrase…**

**ON.TO.THE.CHAPTER.**

* * *

**Rosette's POV**

He was pissed. All because I had brought Chrno with me. Keith can be such a fricken' jerk sometimes. I had just walked out onto the stage when I saw Chrno and him, face-to-face, glaring at each other. Keith said something to him that I couldn't hear, and stormed towards the stage. Chrno's glare intensified at his retreating back. Why? I guess they didn't mix well.

But what would Keith do now?

I watched as his angry figure stomped up the stage stairs, his eyes piercing through me. He sharply grabbed my wrist and led me to the backstage changing room.

"Please don't do this in front of Chrno." I begged.

He gave me a warning look and I shut up. I hope Keith wouldn't be REALLY angry.

He closed the door behind him and that's when he exploded. I could smell the cigarette smoke and alcohol on his breath.

"I SAID that I didn't TRUST that guy, Rosette!!" he spluttered at me, his eyes dangerously bloodshot.

"I'm SORRY but I CAN bring who I want here, I can MAKE my own FRIENDS BESIDES you guys!" He was making me angry, but I knew there was a blow coming soon. Why didn't I just break up with this guy? Where was that kind, gentle Keith I fell in love with? DID I even fall in love with him?

His handsome face, morphed into pure rage. He treated me like his daughter. Not an equal.

Keith's hand drew back, and I waited for the slap, hit, whatever. It came. His hand smacked right onto my right cheek, causing an immediate burn. I winced but stood tall.

I've had enough of this. I can't. I can't hide my scars anymore. No.

I ran out of the room, scared if Keith would follow. I heard nothing behind me, and I shakily walked on to the stage and took a deep breath. 'I'm here for the band' I told myself.

**Chrno's POV (a few minutes earlier)**

**  
**

I walked around outside, wondering when Rosette's band would start practice and wondering if Keith was like partially evil.

_I hate him._

_I don't even KNOW why._

_He hurt her._

_That's not right._

_He should burn in-_

A flock of pigeons that I had walked towards flew away, startling me out of my hateful thoughts. Good thing too.

I decided to walk back in, to see if the _Nuns with Machine Guns _were ready. That band name made me crack up inside.

When I opened the door, I saw Rosette standing there, looking like she was about to burst into tears, throw up, or both. She was terribly pale, and shook. The red mark on her right cheek didn't make it look any better.

_Something happened. Now she's scared. Really scared._

I had no time to think because at that moment, Nick, Dave, and Keith all joined her on the stage. Finally to start practicing.

They took their places on space silently.

Rosette and Keith at front, Nick and Dave towards the back.

They began, Rosette shooting nervous glances at Keith and him staring with a hard expression at the seats in front of him. The other two band members took no notice.

The band sounded great together. Going through a few of their songs that they planned to play for the concert, Dave, Nick, Rosette, and even Keith were almost like different people when they played.

It was hard to imagine Keith's gruff voice singing, but he actually sounded really good when he sang with Rosette. Both of their amazing voices and the awesome music made it sound that I liked Keith any better after that. People can change in the blink of an eye. Which I'm sure he did.

**Rosette's POV**

I feel him watching as we sing together. Keith I mean. I don't like it. As soon as we're done, I'm bolting outta here, Chrno with me or not. He looked way more angry than he's ever looked before. I'm seriously scared. Yes, even I, Rosette Christopher can get scared.

I tear my gaze away from him and look at Chrno sitting alone, in front of us smiling. I hope he likes us. His red eyes are dancing to the music as if taking the place of himself.

Personally, I think we sound pretty good that ANYONE would want to dance to our sounds.

We keep going, all four of us, for about an hour and a half. Then we finally finish, all of us sweating from having the lights on and being in the stuffy stage room for so long.

I am SO going to take a shower when I get home…after I leave this place…fast.

Taking my guitar and packing it in its case, I wave to them as a group not really looking at them and jump off the stage. Chrno stands up looking a little confused.

"Bye guys! Sorry I can't stay and help, I have to be somewhere." I hope they didn't hear the nervousness in my voice. I run across the room, Chrno in tow and run out of the building. I hear one of them following me but I pretend not to hear.

"Rosette? Why'd you leave so quickly-OW! You're twisting my arms the wrong wa-OW!!" Chrno complained. He looked like he was kinda in pain. Oh well.

Since we had walked to our rehearsal, we had to walk back. In the beating sun. In early summer. School was definitely over by now.

**Normal POV**

The two walked back to their apartment building in silence. Chrno had an idea as to why Rosette was very upset…and the newly formed bruise on her right cheek gave a hint too.

He was pretty mad himself. Mad. ANGRY.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He was going to talk to her tonight…and explain about reading a bit of the diary…that'd be risky though.

The crowd bustled past them, a few people recognizing Rosette from the flyers and other places but when that happened, the two always buried themselves deeper into the crowd so whoever thought they had seen Rosette from _Nun with Machine Guns_, now thought that they had imagined it.

Rosette frowned the whole time there, her eyes occasionally darting around at the faces next to her. As if she was expecting someone to attack her. Maybe she was.

**Roar. This is too short. But you know, I was in the car while my dad was driving me somewhere, and suddenly this whole stream of ideas just enters my head….and now I'm itching to type it all…but somehow I think I should keep you all in suspense (smirk)**

**Keith is evil… I hope all of you hate him…yup…my single goal every chapter…I think in the next or the chapter after that I'm going to introduce Azmaria…but then again…**

**Please increase my updating speed and review:)**


	8. Gone Too Far?

**Ohmigod you guys….chapter 8…hmm…**

**I'm sorry this chapter was kinda late.**

**I got pretty sick and I _am _still pretty sick but I still manage to bring you the next chapter. :)**

**Disclaimer: AML doesn't own Chrno Crusade…I'm sure we're past this stage already.**

* * *

This was extremely awkward.

Rosette asked the question again, clutching her pillow, like a little 5 year old.

"Can I sleep with you?"

Chrno felt like fainting.

* * *

Here's what had been happening. After getting home after quickly walking back from Rosette's band's rehearsal, she had quickly run into her apartment, and locked herself in there, almost forgetting to bid farewell to Chrno.

Chrno on the other hand was worried about that fearful look on her face. When they had gotten back, it had been late afternoon, so Chrno had decided to do some homework from the day before.

He had purposely gotten into his homework to forget about that day. The day before. To forget about the day he even met Rosette. Even though he despised Keith and the way he treated her, it was none of his business. At least, this was what he told himself.

Just as Chrno had completely forgotten about the past week, there was an urgent knocking at his door.

He sighed, getting up from his essay, and walked to the door. Earlier he had changed into only a shirt and boxers so that was what he was wearing now.

When he opened the door, Rosette stood there looking extremely nervous. So now:

"Can I sleep with you?"

Chrno felt a little taken back by the question and a silence followed. Of course he realized that she didn't mean what he was thinking but her straightforwardness caught him off guard.

She asked the same question again, unaware of Chrno's inner mind battle.

He opened the door wider.

"Y-yeah sure, come in."

When she didn't reply or even move, he lifted her chin up with his hand.

"Hey, what's the matter?" he asked in a quiet voice.

Though he had lifted her face towards him, her gaze strayed to the side.

"He keeps calling me, harassing me on the phone. He keeps threatening all of these horrible things…and I don't want to stay by myself…" she flushed after admitting that she was kind of scared.

He smiled, and led her in.

_I have nothing to do with this…But I'll help her out in her time of need…_

She slowly walked in, biting her lip. Navigating herself through the apartment and into Chrno's bedroom, she flopped herself onto the bed, staring at the window.

He was silent, watching to see what she would do.

After awhile and realizing that she wasn't going to move anytime soon though, he grabbed some homework and sat down next to her on the bed to do it.

An hour passed as he did homework and Rosette nonchalantly undid and redid his braid, a plus for him because it felt _really _good.

It was very silent and outside the night was calm without rain or wind.

That was until the silence was interrupted by a sudden crash at Chrno's window. A bottle had been thrown at his window, sending shards of glass flying.

Chrno who had been sitting nearest to the window on the bed, immediately got up and blocked Rosette from the sharp, flying shards.

The bottle flew through the window and crashed to the wooden floor sending other small pieces of glass everywhere.

You would have suspected Rosette to scream but all that was heard from her was a sharp intake of breath and a worried whisper of "Chrno!"

He still stood there in front of her, his back to her. She walked around him to see him. A few pieces of glass stuck out of his arm, but otherwise he was okay.

"Ahhh, geez…who would throw a bottle through the window??" whined Chrno as if nothing had happened. He then tried to pull the caught pieces of glass from his arm.

Rosette frowned deeply and ran to the window. Going down the street, she saw Keith's old car drive away.

"Shit…Chrno…." She muttered, turning back around to tend to her rescuer.

She sat him down away from the window, and allowed her bangs to hide her embarrassed and ashamed face.

"I'm sorry…this is really my fault this time…I knew he was coming up and down the street like that….but I never thought he'd do that….what a jerk…what a…..that's _it…_it's fucking over….I don't care for him….WHY WOULD HE DO THIS???" she mumbled all of this partly to herself and partly to Chrno trying to ease one of the small shards that was embedded in Chrno's shoulder.

"O-ow…..Was he really doing that before? Ahhhh….." She pulled the first shard free that dripped a small amount of blood.

"Well….when that bastard called he kept saying 'I'm going to get you' or 'that little boyfriend of yours is trash' and I keep saying 'STOP being a bitch and STOP calling me…'" Rosette got up to go into the next room and look for a rag to stop the small river of blood flowing down his arm from getting onto his sheets.

Chrno sat there as he listened to her go through his cabinets.

For some odd reason, he liked what he had just heard. (grin)

* * *

**I.HATE.SHORT.CHAPTERS….**

**Yet why do I keep updating with them? It's driving me nuts….**

**Hmm well anyways…**

**Any suggestions/ideas? I will listen to you all.**

**Review!**in


	9. Starting The Day Off With A Little Drama

**Chapter Nine**

**Well sorry for the wait…as a reward for waiting (what like 2 days?) I present a _slightly_ longer than usual chapter.**

**Disclaimer: AML owns nothing…except Keith…oh happiness… **

**(ah yes and I'm doing better…I'm saying that in hopes that anyone cared haha )**

* * *

Chrno sighed. He was being very quiet and patient with the frantic Rosette yet he was starting to feel a little irritated. She had been fussing over him and the mess the glass made. He already a bandaged up arm which had more bandages than really needed.

It had taken a good twenty minutes to try and get all of the pieces of glass out of his arm without ripping off most of his flesh.

But now, Rosette was fussing and freaking out over the broken window and shattered bottle on the ground. She was bent down, sweeping up the glass. It was nearly cleaned up, done by Rosette herself, considering she wouldn't even let him get NEAR the damn mess.

He had really never seen her like this….all cleany-uppy….weird…

"Rosette."

"-pay for this? Where did that broom go?" she whirled around not paying attention.

"ROSETTE."

"What?" her attention was soon lost though.

"ROSETTE!! STOP. We.are.going.to.bed.and.going.to.school.tomorrow.as.if.nothing.happened.got it??" he said the sentence very slowly, picking it apart.

She stared back at him for a moment, silently. Then she took a deep breath.

"Ok….you're right…let's sleep…" she put down the broom, looked around the room and sat down on the bed.

"Ow…..what did I just sit on??" she started reaching for something under the covers.

_Shit. The diary._

"De-OH Rosette! I forgot…um…you should use the bathroom before you sleep…" he finished lamely.

"Chrno…."

"Yes?"

"Do you think I'm going to wet your bed or something?" she started laughing nervously but he never laughed.

"Just do it."

"…." She shrugged but walked away anyway to the bathroom.

"That was close…" breathed Chrno leaning back onto the bed, laying on the diary under the covers in the process.

"OW." He sat straight up again, rubbing his back. He reached under the covers and grabbed the threatening book with the threatening letters and sighed while looking at it.

"What should I do with you?"

"Are you talking to yourself?" he heard Rosette's voice from the hallway. Footsteps were coming to the room.

_Holy Shit. Holy Shit. Oh My Freeking God. Fuck. Fuck. WHAT DO I DOOO?!_

As a last resort, he threw the diary behind the back of his bed, just as the clueless blonde walked into the room.

"Are you?"

"No, whattya talking about?" he questioned trying to look innocent as possible.

She stood there staring at him suspiciously. The light from the hallway shone against her figure in the doorway, making her seem like an angel. Pretty.

"U-uh Rosette…let's just SLEEP okay?" he said feeling a little flustered.

"Okay." She shrugged and flopped onto the bed next to him, almost as if she had forgotten the eventful night.

They lied there like that for awhile in the complete dark except for the hallway light. Rosette and Chrno's arms behind their heads, staring at the very boring ceiling.

"Chrno?"

"Mm?"

"Can you go turn off the hallway light?"

"….fine."

He got up, flipped the light off, and flopped back into his previous position.

"Chrno?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For turning the light off?"

"No…you know the whole letting me sleep here and you know …."

"…yeah…"

"Sorry about your arm…"

"I'm okay…"

Chrno and Rosette, enveloped in silence, slowly began to drift away into dreamland.

* * *

Chrno woke up, on time for once without needing help from his alarm clock. The morning sunshine poured through the now broken window. That made Chrno wonder how he was actually going to get it fixed.

School.

He was GOING to make Rosette go today. No matter what happened the day before, he was going to take her with him

He turned to his side to look at Rosette who was comfortably curled around the pillow she had brought with her.

Chrno smiled at her, and after hearing a soft laugh from someone nearby, Rosette stirred.

"Mmmm…what time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"Time for school!" he answered with fake enthusiasm.

"Nooooo….isn't it the weekkkeeenndd?" Rosette pulled the pillow over her head.

"Nope. Come on get up. Want the shower first? Well, I at least I always shower before school."

She sat up, looking around. The blonde then turned her now cheerful blue eyes towards the amber eyed teen and smiled.

"Is _that _why you always smell so good?" she asked to his back that was heading for the bathroom.

"Do you want the shower or not, Rosette?"

No answer. He looked back to see she had disappeared.

_Where did she **go?**_

"Rosette?"

He looked over at the broken window.

_Oh My God she did not…. She did._

Praying to God that she didn't, Chrno leaned his head out of the window, careful to avoid the sharp, protruding pieces of glass.

"Rosette are you-whoa!" Rosette's upside down smiling face met Chrno's, startling him.

"What…are…you doing up there…..YOU'RE GOING TO FALL!!!" Chrno panicked thinking how he would get blamed if his neighbor died falling off _his _roof.

"Awww stop worrying so much." She said, slightly losing her balance for a minute which didn't make her statement sound convincing to Chrno.

"Get….down….back….into…the room…please…" he begged.

She sighed.

"FINE. BE a spoilsport." She huffed reaching for his outstretched hand from above.

This time she did lose her balance completely.

And she found herself hanging from Chrno's window holding onto his one hand.

"Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Chrno. PLEASE HELP." Rosette panicked, looking down at the ground below her….which was very far away.

He grunted struggling to get her up with his one good arm. But at the rate she was slipping, he would have to use his injured arm.

"J-just hold on…." Clenching his teeth, Chrno reached his other arm through the window. His arms leaned onto the sharp protruding shards of the broken window, causing them to break the skin.

"Ow…jeez…a-all I wanted to do was go.to…s-ah!...school." Slowly but surely, his efforts started to take effect and Rosette felt herself being pulled up by two pained, yet strong arms.

The last pull through the dangerous window cut Rosette's stomach, but she really could've cared less.

"Oh my God I'm alive!" she danced around giddy. (A/N I mean wouldn't you if you almost fell off the roof of an apartment building?)

Chrno groaned, not really feeling enthusiasm but at least glad that he wouldn't be sued. He grabbed his injured arm from the night before that now had new cuts around it which would mean more bandaging.

"Ahh…" Rosette said, examining her cut stomach and slightly torn pajama top. "At least I'll live though."

The blonde looked over at her short savior (AGAIN!) and saw him frowning at his wounds.

"Wow, Chrno you must be so sick of me…having to protect me and all from all of this crap…" she looked at the floor a little ashamed.

He looked up at her from his spot on the floor.

"Well, what other shorty is gonna look after you and your problems?" he smirked, getting up to finally take that shower.

"Awww shuddup. Go shower. I'll be ready when you come out." He nodded and went in the bathroom.

* * *

"Soooo are there any hot guys at your school??" Rosette playfully inquired as they started to walk to school.

"Rosette…..first of all, didn't you JUST give on on Keith?...and how would **I **know if there are ….any….hot guys….I'M A GUY!!" Chrno huffed.

Rosette laughed.

"Aww there's nothing wrong with looking…" she looked over at him.

"Are you _positive _you don't have a girlfriend of sorts? I mean….look at yourself!" she exclaimed, hoping to get a rise outta him.

"Please….Rosette….don't do this to me…" Chrno's voice sounded a bit annoyed.

"But it's so fuuuuun." She teased back, stepping around a mother taking her baby for a walk.

The morning had gotten hotter and hotter as Chrno had predicted. Even though it was in the middle of January, the days were sweltering hot causing suspicions to arise. Of course now…the weather was the least of his worries.

After meeting Rosette, Chrno knew that she needed stern protecting. It seemed like she took care of herself most of her life but now as an attractive, young, _fiery_ girl…someone had to look out for her.

And Chrno had designated himself for the job.

And on the top of his list of worries was Rosette getting date raped.

_Jesus where did that some from?_

Chrno had been so burrowed into his thoughts that he hadn't realized that they were back on the school steps…someplace where they were a couple days ago.

This time though they were a little early and other students that had come early as well, lounged around the school courtyard or sat on the steps.

Chrno walked over to the steps and sat down, watching Rosette look around for someone interesting.

"Uh…good morning Chrno…." A shy voice penetrated interrupted Chrno's watching.

He turned around and saw a girl smaller than _him _that had almost white hair and soft skin.

"Hey Azmaria…how are you today?" he asked cautiously. Azmaria, a year younger, but in his grade because of her smart-ness, she always seemed breakable but was a good friend to Chrno. Her quiet personality mixed well with Chrno's also quiet, observing personality.

"I-I'm okay Chrno…thanks for asking…that girl over there, she's very pretty…I saw you walk here with her…is she your girlfrie-"

"No." he answered simply before she could finish her question.

The shy girl looks down as if embarrassed for thinking such a thing. Chrno didn't really blame her. Half of the school probably thought so too after seeing him, a rather attractive guy (he knew this) and her, a _very _attractive girl walk together to school.

"Is your arm okay?" she asked just noticing his bandaged arm.

"I'm okay…..sorry Azmaria, I'm just a little stressed…lots of things happened last night."

The girl looked up with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry for-"

"Who's _this??_" a rather excited blonde asked, butting in.

Rosette.

"This is Azmaria, Rosette." Chrno said, shifting in his seat on the step. Rosette and Azmaria joined him on either side.

"Aww…I was hoping it was your girlfriend or something…." Rosette pouted.

"WHAT is with your obsession about my _lovelife??_" Chrno asked annoyed.

Azmaria giggled quietly, observing the two interact. Rosette looked over at the source of the shy sound and the girl immediately flinched. She noticed the violent reaction.

"Heyy loosen up…I'm not gonna bite your head off, or anthing….I'm just getting good look at you is all…aww…she's so pretty Chrno…" Rosette gave a toothy grin. She then shifted closer, leaning across Chrno, suffocating the extremely irritated teen in the process.

"Soo….Chrno wouldn't tell me anything…are there any hot guys here? Except Chrno of course??" The funny thing was that Rosette asked the question with a very straight face.

At that moment, (to Chrno's relief) the bell for school to start rang and the crowd of noisy students began to descend up the stairs inside.

Rosette sighed.

"School, huh?"

* * *

_Pleasurable moans escaped Rosette's mouth as Chrno caressed the inside of her mouth with his tongue. Her hands wandered, along Chrno's arms and neck, beckoning him to do more. Biting her bottom lip softly, Chrno grinned against his darling's mouth and explored her body with his own hands as a reply. Rosette's hairties had come undone, causing her hair to fall around her face and shoulders, making her seem all the more appealing. Slipping his tongue back into her mouth, their tongues memorized each other's movement and texture and explored deeper into each others-_

"MR.CHRNO!" a voice called to the sleeping teen.

Startling him out of his dream, the teacher threw her chalk at the boy's head angrily, hoping he would feel her wrath with the blow.

"Mr. Chrno," she repeated. "would you rather sleep and salivate all over the desk, or would you like to be left alone without punishment and listen to my teachings?" the angry teacher threatened.

Embarrassed but still groggy, the red-eyed boy grinned sheepishly and looked to the board, hoping desperately for a clue as to what they were doing.

"THANK YOU." The biology teacher turned back around and continued writing notes.

Half of the class sniggered at the flustered teen and the other half blushed, feeling embarrassed for him.

Luckily Rosette was not in that class.

But Azmaria was.

_What the hell was with that dream? Oh. My. Frickin. God. I REALLY hope I didn't SAY anything or make any…inappropriate sounds….oh shit….maybe I should ask Azmaria…of course that would be EXTREMELY embarrassing…what if word get to Rosette…she seems to be pretty popular among the students already…what if I said her name in my dream??...ohshitohshitohshitohshit…WHY did my dream have to turn out like that…it wasn't even that **graphic**…aw man…_

As these worries ran through Chrno's head, Azmaria watched from her seat next to him as his face changed in expression every other second.

She suddenly blushed, remembering the sounds that had come from him during the teacher's lectures. You know, the pleased sounds, and moans of "Rosette."

No doubt about it.

This would definitely reach Rosette before lunch.

* * *

**Chrno is so screwed.**

**So whatdya guys think? I rewrote this about three times….I know it could've been less boring but tell me what you thought about this chapter! **

**(even those people who just read and don't review, just spare a moment to type in your thoughts..)**

**Thanks for reading! **


	10. Nervousness

**omg this sucks butt...my computer crashed about three days ago and it had to get like reloaded meaning I lost ALLL of my data in microsoft meaning I have to type this on notepad...which I don't LIKE...rawr...so yeah...I hope every1 had a good halloween/dia de la muertos...So here's my little treat from me to you...a chapter!!!**

**Disclaimer: AML does not currently own Chrno Crusade. (and considering the manga AND anime ended a few years ago, what would be the good of owning besides being fricken' rich??)**

**Chapter 10 (Let's get dirty!) --ignore that please**

* * *

Fear racked Chrno's bones as he walked through the noisy hall of...noisy students. It had been two periods since...the "incident." As he walked,  
he passed several snickering students, pointing at him, attempting to stop themselves from busting out laughing. They were only trying to be polite because well...this was Chrno. Chrno was that quiet, nice guy who minded his business about other people's business. And he had gained respect for that.  
Still, he desperately hoped that somehow he would just drop dead before lunch period, or a bomb would blow up the school or SOMETHING to stop him from seeing Rosette.SOMEHOW...but his desperate wishing remained ignored He calcuted how much time he had until lunch.  
the next time he would see Rosette. 

He stopped walking for a moment to look up at the clock above the water fountain.

11:00 exactly.

One hour and a half until his face-to-face confrontation with Rosette. That CLEARLY wasn't enough time. Chrno quickly started walking again to his next class, American Studies. His least favorite class, just because the kid behind always kicked his chair, always read out loud to himself, always just made WEIRD noises. It also didn't help that he had no idea what he would say to Rosette when they saw each other next.

_-Imaginary Conversation I-_

_Rosette: I heard some weird things about you, Chrno...were you-_

_Chrno: IT'S NOT TRUE! WHOEVER TOLD YOU IS LYING!_

_Rosette: Well Chrno, are you sure? Because you're sweating an awful lo-_

_Chrno: I was just dreaming that I...had an ...itch and I ...couldn't reach it...and ...YEAH...and I was asking you to scratch it for me and..._

_Rosette:..._

_Chrno.  
Rosette: Pervert._

_Chrno: NO!!! WAIT!!!_

_**-End Imaginary Coversation I-**_

Chrno groaned in frustaration as he stomped into the classroom. That would definitley NOT work.  
Of course, he was late after stopping by the clock and thinking so much. He got extra homework for that night. Great.

Something ELSE to make his life easier.

However, he still kept trying to think of strategies to follow when he next saw Rosette, as the teacher began to write his homework down for his late student.

_**-Imaginary Conversation II-**_

_Rosette: Chrno?_

_Chrno: What?_

_Rosette: I heard that you were having some PRETTY naughty dreams in Science class..._

_Chrno: Yeah and?_

_Rosette: About a certain hottie..._

_Chrno: Maybe.._

_Rosette: And that hottie is...?_

_Chrno: It's you dammit! Now let's get hitched and have beautiful children together! You with me?!_

_Rosette: Hell yeses!_

_**-makeout scene & applause-**_

_**-End Imaginary Conversation II-**_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!! THAT IS WRONG! WHY WOULD SOMEONE DO THAT!? DAMMIT NOOO!!!" Chrno yelled just as the teacher was handing him his extra homework.

The teacher, startled by the quiet boy's sudden outburst, gaped for a moment but after composing himself, smacked Chrno with his pointer stick and promptly handed him a detention slip that he had conveniently stored in his pocket. I swear teachers, like, do that it's so annoying!

"If you don't agree with my ideas Mr. Chrno, why dont you meet me after school so we can discuss this issue?!" the teacher scolded

Chrno looked up with wide eyes. Did he yell that last sentence out? Damn his overactive imagination!

"Ah! No, I'm sorry, I'll keep my opinions to myself from now on." Embarassed, confused, and slightly lovesick, Chrno hastily sat down at his seat the teacher fumed and the rest of the class laughed at the shorty's situation.

Lunch.

It came way too soon.

Honestly and truly.

The world felt like it was going in slow motion for Chrno. Voices were deep and slurred. Faces blurred. Every movement was set to slow-mo.  
And he also felt a distant rumbling. Foodfight? Volcanic eruption? He hoped so.

Alright, just CONCENTRATE on simple things like...

He moved up in the lunch line that he hadn't even realized he joined. Taking a tray, he looked at all of the school food straight from hell.

_The spaghetti is a strange color. Is it...greenish? Is sauce even SUPPOSED to be green? Whoa...I swear that brownie just moved.  
this milk sounds clunky when you shake it...Do I even have money?_

Every thought entered Chrno's head, one at a time, as if each was waiting in line, just as he was. Hopefully, the line would never move. EVER.

Yeah, he was totally dreading his meeting with Rosette.

"Hi...Azmaria..." Chrno greeted drearily.

"Ah! Hello Chrno..." she looked up from her equally disgusting lunch to watch Chrno take a seat across from her. Usually they sat together and few other guys would later join them. Of course this time, Rosette would be joining them.

And at that moment, she entered the room with her lunch, staring downing at the tray in her hands with distaste.

Chrno's stomach dropped.

Ohcrap...she probably heard by now...everyone's been laughing at me...I could care less about them but...Rosette.

_Is she going to kill me?...call me something?...do I LOOK okay?...WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT HOW I LOOK?!!?_

She came nearer and nearer, and Chrno became more nervous with every step she took towards Azmaria and Chrno's table. Several people stopped her in her tracks to ask her something or make a comment. Her face became clouded with irritation as more and more people stopped her.

Chrno turned to his food and watched as his apple sauce merged with the cinnamon on top. The cinnamon looked kind of black and tainted the pale, white-ish applesauce. The sandwich in front of him, smelled strangely like pickles, even though he had ordered a steak sandwich.

He felt a slight movement on the bench next to him and guessed that Rosette had finally gotten through the throng of students, and sat down.

_Calm DOWN Chrno...maybe she didn't hear anything at all!...yeah this might be a complete waste of energy worrying like this.  
just keep going normally as if nothing happened._

Although quieter than usual, Chrno kept his cool through the lunch as Rosette and Azmaria made small talk about homework, classes,  
teachers, and the other teenagers attending the school.

He had almost made it through half the lunch period until Rosette HAD to bring up a certain song.

After finishing yet another disgusting bite of her lunch, Rosette unleashed her demise upon Chrno, the SINNER, the PERVERT, the LOVERBOY.

"You know I just remembered the song I autioned with to get a contract from a recording company." she stated, turning towards Chrno.

"...really."

"Yeah...I think it was this really cute song from a kid's movie...umm...what was it..."

"Ah yes! It went something like...

A dream is a wish your heart makes

When you're fast asleep

In dreams you lose your heartaches

Whatever you wish for, you keep

Have faith in your dreams and someday

Your rainbow will come smiling thru

No matter how your heart is grieving

If you keep on believing the dream that you wish will come true..." she sang very softly but only loud enough for Azmaria and Chrno to hear. They didn't see her mischevious grin throughout the short song. However, Chrno noticed the obvious pointing out of several phrases.

Azmaria remained silent after the song, reliving the sound of the blonde's lovely voice. But as the girl did this, Rosette leaned to her left, putting her mouth to Chrno's ear. He jumped a little, but listened.

"So, Chrno. What do YOU think? Do you believe the song is correct in what it _suggests_?" she asked in a teasing voice.

She had SO heard that damn rumor.

"NO! No. I think dreams are things... you, like, don't have control over...and...uh...sometimes they make you experience _strange_ things...  
that you don't want to...experience?" Chrno. guessed, hoping that would make him seem innocent.

Obviously, it didn't.

Annoyance, irritation, and plain old anger showed up on Rosette's flawless face, and Chrno winced, waiting for a blow. She hadn't looked this mad since Keith ahd accused her of going out with Chrno. He did realize though, that she had never striked, but her face was inches away from his, making his face heat up for various reasons.

"You JERK!" she spat, making everyone in the cafeteria turn their heads. Chatter immediately stopped, and soft, urgent whispering replaced it. The whispering was most likely centered around the scene taking place in the middle of the room.

Azmaria, still sat in her seat and watched as Rosette stalked out of the room and Chrno followed. The small teen's face a little paler than usual, she threw her lunch out and went to the nurse to lie down.

She wasn't sure if it was the food, or her friend's situation getting to her, so she decided it was a mix of both.

* * *

**That was short...ish. Well I'm REAL tired and as soon as my dad fixed the computer I jumped on, desperat to get at least a short chapter up...you know I had like SEVENTEEN emails from only 2 or 3 days of...not checking...I felt so loooooved...ok well anyways...next chapter, things get pretty messy and..._eventful. _Please look forward to it! (Give me like 2 days...cuz I wanna make it long)**

**So to increase my motivation/self-confidence or just plain old share your thoughs about the chapter...review! **


	11. Just a Little Bug

**Well, I promised things would get more eventful...so here it is...the introduction for it all at least. (Oh yeah and thanks for the reviews)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chrno Crusade**

**Oh and please excuse me if I describe the drunk behavior wrong. I've never been drunk before. x)**

**Chapter Eleven...**

* * *

"Rosette, WAIT!" Chrno's cry echoed through the empty hall, and several heads stuck out from classrooms on all sides. Rosette though, ignored them and kept walking away, not even turning around to look at Chrno. Still lagging behind her because of her headstart,  
Chrno kept trying to make her stop.

"Come on Rosette...at least listen!"

"Seriously! Don't get so worked up about nothing!" Rosette's pace quickened.

"Well I just thought that the song was some kind of...trap..."

"Stop following me."

"Rosette stop being so stubborn! I just-"

"I HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM!" she shut the girl's bathroom door in his face, and the hallway became completely quiet again. He hadn't even noticed that they were headed for the bathrooms.

Chrno leaned his back against the wall next to the door and sighed deeply. Would this girl ever cool down? One minute she was all bouncy and high and the next, she's threatening you with your life or making you feel like the biggest jerk in the world.  
How did she DO it?

Chrno groaned, trying to make the extremely quiet hallway seem less quiet.

"Rosette..." he called. "Come out, I need to talk to you...you can't stay in there forever.

Silence.

"FINE. I'll just talk to you like this then."

The door to the girl's bathroom remained closed.

"Look, I'm SORRY if I OFFENDED you...but did you really have to make that scene in the caf? I mean...that dream was kinda weird that I'm sure you heard about...and I'm still not sure if I actually enjoyed it or not...so can you forgive me and pretend this never happened...?"

After a moment of no response and still silence, Chrno put his ear up to the door and struggled to listen for something.

He heard the running of water, and then the flush of a toilet, and he could've SWORN he heard gagging noises.  
Rosette then came out, looking pale and sickly.

Chrno stood there staring at her wondering if she was about to puke all over him.

"That food was gross."

"What?"

"That disgusting food really didn't agree with my stomach..." Rosette shut her eyes, clutching her stomach.

Chrno continued to stare...did that mean-?

"You didn't hear anything I said in the past three minutes, did you?" Chrno asked numbly, shaking a bit.

Rosette opened her brilliant blue eyes and shook her head at the distressed teenager.

"Great..." he remarked sarcastically, but quickly noticed Rosette turning paler and covering her mouth.

"Ohhhhh my god, Rosette get in there!" and Chrno shoved the sick girl into the bathroom and took her to a stall,  
where he held her hair back the whole time.

* * *

"Well, Ms. Christopher, your temperature is normal, I'm sure it's just a minor bug, just keep lying down." The nurse assured her in a nonchalant voice and waddled over to her desk to record Rosette's visit.

The rather large woman looked over at Rosette who lay on the small, uncomfortable bed looking exhausted and Chrno who let his head hang back on the chair he was sitting on by the bed.

The two had staggered into her office, the purple haired boy mumbling about vomit and it's smell and the blonde just plain old sick.

After they had placed Rosette on the bed, the boy had rushed to the bathroom and puked himself. No one was there to holde HIS hair back.

Before she knew it though, both teens had conked out in their uncomfortable positions on the bed and chair, making the nurse chuckle to herself.

A relaxing silence filled the small school nurse's office, and the old lady contently filled out paperwork, looking over at the sleeping teens every other minute.

However, the silent was ruined, when a student, the same age as Chrno and Rosette, stumbled in.

"Helloooo Mizzzz Nurss..." the boy slurrred, losing his balance slightly.

The old woman looked up from her paperwork asnd sighed at the drunken teenager. She pointed her pen to a seat, commanding the boy to sit down.

"Drinking again on campus, are we, Mr. Finnigan? I'll have to notify your parents and the principal again, you know." This happened a lot with this particular student, and the principal would not be surprised to hear this.

"Awwww Nurzz, don be like dat..." the teen's eyes slanted and he leaned dangerously over the side of the chair.

"Muh teacher..sented me herrrre fer some reason I dunno..." the boy looked around, as if wondering where he was.

The nurse sighed again, and put down her pen to get up. Just as she was about to leave the room, she turned around to the poisoned teen.

"Don't you DARE do anything stupid, Mr. Finnigan. Don't even MOVE. I'll be right back!" and with that, the woman walked briskly out of the room.  
The silence from before, quickly filled the room again after she walked out.

The teenager who had just entered, looked over at the other two patients, hoping to figure out who they were through all of the blurriness.  
One had purple hair, and was sitting upright, asleep on a chair. A blonde girl, who looked very pretty, layed on the bed.

He looked around checking if someone was coming, and walked over to the bed, as carefully as he could without toppling over.

Man, he had drank a LOT.

The girl lying down on the bed, seemed very pretty. Why was she on the bed. Why wouldn't she talk to him.

The curious boy tried to focus and see her face clearly. But it was too blurry. His face got closer and closer, as he tried to focus his vision on her face.

"Hullooo..." At that moment, Chrno woke up from his restful slumber and saw someone getting dangerously close to his Rosette.

His??

"Hey you!" he warned the newcomer. The intruder looked over at the awakened Chrno.

They boy squinted a moment at his face, then Rosette.

"Heyyy...you're thozzzze two people who were fightin' durin' lunch..." he pointed at Chrno's face, delighted he had identified them.

"Yeahhhh...are you drunk? You're Michael Finnigan aren't you? The one who drinks on campus..."

"Thatsa me!!"

"Well...could you get away from-"

A movement by "Michael" interrupted their pointless conversation and made them realize that Rosette was waking up. She opened up her eyes to see a stranger's face right by hers.

"GETTOFF!!!" she pushed him off the bed, causing his vision to swirl and spin. He fell back on his butt, feeling dizzy.

Chrno looked over at the irritated Rosette and blushed, remembering their current arguement/problem.

That's right. She hadn't heard his apology before.

Oh well. He couldn't worry about that now, because before he had realized it, Michael had been inviting the two to a party at his house that night.

"-trying tooo get EVRYWUN tuh come...sooo do yuh guys wanna?" the boy waited for an answer like an excited child.

Rosette stared at him suspiciously.

"Will there be alcohol?" she asked, her eyebrows raised.

"You bet!!"

"We're coming." she grinned at the boy and he smiled lazily back. Chrno sputtered.

"Rosette. Don't tell me you're going just because of that! 'Sides, we're underage!" Rosette shrugged at him and looked around the room.

"Come on Chrno, live a little...by the way, why are we in the nurse's office?" she asked.

Chrno sighed, deciding to push the party problem away for now.

"Well, when you were walking away from me, you locked youself in the bathroom and started puking everywhere while I became sick to my stomach myself.  
Then, we staggered back here and you just conked out from exhaustion on the bed, and me from basically, disgust." Rosette widened her eyes.

"Oh yeah! Now I remember...and I was walking away ...why?" she asked, knowing perfectly well why she had been angry with him.

"Uhhh...well...yah see..." Chrno stammered, leaning back on his chair, as Rosette leaned back on the bed waiting for an answer.

Meanwhile, Michael, the still drunken boy, stood there, nodding every now and then as if he was in the conversation. Of course he wasn't REALLY listening. He just didn't want to be left out is all.

* * *

"Well for now, I'll forgive you." Rosette smirked to herself as she changed her shirt, on the phone with Chrno.

After giving his whole speech on how sorry he was, his uncertainness, and how he couldn't control what he dreamed, Rosette had apparently forgiven him for the time being, but now she was thinking about the party they had been invited to.

"So Chrno, are you going to that party that Finnigan guy invited us to?"

"...you better not go Rosette."

"Why not? 'Cuz I'm an 'attractive young woman' who has no boundaries and has a high chance of getting dateraped?"

"You probably didn't know how easy you are to read, Chrno."

"Well then, if you already know, DON'T GO! Michael's parties always get pretty wild."

"Wilder than me?"

"...Please Rosette."

"Aww you're such a party pooperrrr..."

"Better safe than-"

"Hey! I have an idea! Would you let me go if I promised to stay by your side? You'd protect me right?"

"...you never listen to me. Besides, even if I'm with you, that won't stop the wildness of the party."

"PLEASE? With you and your big muscles, you can-"

"FINE. WE'LL GO. As long as you promise to do just that...and stop trying to convince me to do stuff with that fake flattery..."

"Gasp!! Whatever you say, Chrno!!! I LOVE YOU!!! AND I LOVE PARTYING!! WHOOOO!!!!"

There was a click, and the dialtone rang through Chrno's ears.

He placed the phone down on it's receiver, sighing,

What had he done?

* * *

Excited for a fun night, Rosette hung up the phone without sayong goodbye.

_Homework can wait_, she thought as she looked over at her abandoned backpack on the bed.

She bounced over to her closet, wondering what she would wear. Not something heavy, because of the strange hot weather. Looking over her bright and exuberant clothes, she picked a ...bright... and... exuberant outfit ...and layed it on the bed.

The clock said that she would probably go in two hours. She had plenty of time until then.

Looking around her room, she saw a picture of Dave, Nick, Keith, and herself...the band, on her nightstand. That reminded her of the upcoming concert. The concert was so close.  
A week away. She hadn't talked to anyone of them since two or three days ago when she left Keith behind at a practice.

And as if responding to her thoughts, her cellphone rang, waking out of it's two day hibernation of silence,

She picked it up, wondering who was calling.

"Hello?"

"Hey sis."

"Dave! Sorry I haven't call or anything I-"

"He did something bad this time, didn't he?"

"What?"

"You and Keith. We haven't seen you guys for a few days. And me an' Nick are getting worried."

"Well...we're just kinda having a conflict right now is all, it can't be helped."

"Is that it? A 'conflict?' Sis, I'm not stupid. I know how aggressive Keith can be...I just don't want this to affect the concert in anyway...and I also wanna know if you're okay."

"..."

"You don't have to tell us anything now...but if things get too much for you to handle, me and Nick are here for yah. Okay, Rosette?"

"Yes. Don't worry. Me and Keith are okay."

She snapped her cellphone shut, hanging up on the second person that day.

Sighing, she flopped back onto her bed, and stared at the ceiling.

_We're okay. We're just DONE._

* * *

**Ohhhhh next chapter is gonna be good...(I hope!) And I also hope you all remember Nick and Dave...Nick, the quiet drummer guy...and Dave...her brother.  
(she was adopted and that was her inherited brother)**

**But no one forgets Keith... -.-**

**Next chapter: Party!!!!! (and a bit of drama)**


	12. Realizations

**Hey everyone, yes..I realize its been a …year since I updated and I have some stuff to announce. (ya see..I was in a coma.. and while in the coma I was suffering from severe writer's block …heh….)**

**I am changing my penname after the release of this chapter (SimplySarah1221) and updates will be less frequent but they WILL happen. (pinkyswear)**

**Alright, I've probably lost about 79 of my readers buuut…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Chrno Crusade. If I did…I would slip into a coma of happiness. (again with the coma stuff -.-…sorry)**

**Oh duh. I forgot. I'm also going to start a new Chrno Crusade fanfic.**

**Coming soon to a…computer…near you.**

* * *

_Keith's POV_

That damn little princess is gonna pay. She'll never realize that I'm doing what's best for her.

What a little bitch.

And I can just smell the trouble coming off from that idiot boy she hangs around with. He will never understand Rosette the way I do. No one else knows her the way I do. She belongs to me.

* * *

_Elsewhere (Chrno's apartment)_

Chrno lay on his bed, contemplating what to do about the party situation. His window, still remained broken, and he had yet to inform the landlady of the damage.

He HAD to get it fixed before Rosette fell off the roof again. Chrno sighed audibly, thinking back to when Rosette had shown her musical talent to him in her apartment late at night. Her voice, so serene, so confident, and ..beautiful. Her way of playing the guitar was great but not amazing.

Shifting over to his side, ignoring the lonely silence in his room, he thought about the days when he used to play the guitar. He had started at a very young age, and possessed great musical talent. His father had encouraged him through the years but when both of his parents passed away, he simply stopped. That was four years ago, and Chrno wondered if he would ever be able to play again.

A cat mewed from the outside, and sirens blared in numerous directions. Cars honked and beeped, children shrieked and laughed, and as all of these sounds came in through Chrno's window, he remembered the diary.

He got up from his lazy position and leaned over the headboard of his bed. Extending his arm as far as it would go, Chrno grabbed the little book and settled himself back onto the bed comfortably.

_What should I do with this? _He thought.

He skimmed through it, most entries being about band stuff or the abuse taken from Keith. Chrno looked at this bandage on his arm, the pain he experienced from the injury becoming less frequent. He sighed and the put the diary in his pocket.

He sat at his bed, thinking about everything he had done with Rosette since he met her. However, his thoughts were interrupted by an urgent knock at the door. Sighing for a second time, he slowly got up and walked to the door.

After that, all Chrno could remember was a shaky image of a grinning Keith, and darkness.

* * *

Chrno awoke to the sounds of hushed voices, urgently exchanging in conversation. Both voices were very familiar. He was in a dark room, and as he struggled to turn over to his side, he felt a shooting pain go through his head. He winced, but ignored the pain for the moment. He wanted to hear what the voices had to say on the other side of the closed door.

"-so sorry. I didn't know what to do!"

"Don't worry dear. He's a strong boy, gather anything you need, we'll take him to the emergency room."

"I'm fine! Can we take him now?" this voice sounded very worried and Chrno figured that it was Rosette.

Were they talking about him? Emergency room?

Was it because of the pain in his head?

The door opened, and bright, harsh light poured into the dark room. Chrno gasped from the sudden change in lighting, and that was when he realized the sharpness of the pain in his head.

"Chrno! You're awake." Rosette grinned, but worry clouded her eyes.

The second person to walk in was the landlady, Marie, as Chrno knew her. The old woman walked in shaking her head, with her hands on her hips.

"Getting into fights again, Chrno? I thought that stopped _years ago_."

"Guess not, Marie." Chrno sat up, grinning grimly. He looked over to Rosette who was nervously picking at strands of hair that had come out of her cute pigtails. She avoided his gaze. However she spoke up after a few moments of silence.

"Chrno. Tell me. Was it _Keith _who did this?" Her bright, azure eyes looked up in question.

Chrno took a deep breath.

"I think so, Rosette, but I don't even know what happened. He caught me off guard…I don't even know what happened to me."

Rosette closed her eyes, and Chrno wasn't sure of what she was feeling at that moment. Her hands were at her side, hanging limply.

Chrno got up and went to the nearest mirror in the Marie's bedroom. What he saw surprised him, and he frowned as he surveyed the bruising on the side of his face. He reached his hand up to his head where it continued to hurt. His fingers had blood on them when they came back into his view.

He turned around to face Rosette and Marie.

"This is nothing. No need for the emergency room." There was silence and Marie then shrugged and sighed.

"If you say so, Chrno. I'll have a fit though, if you pass out again." She calmly walked out the room and shut the door. Rosette looked at Chrno with sincere shame on her face.

"Oh my god, Chrno, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. He must have figured out where I moved to and came to find you…I'm sorry."

Chrno grinned, surprised that Rosette, the ever so hot headed girl was sincerely apologizing, with no bitter or insulting words attached. He walked over to her and without thinking, gave her a comforting hug.

She was surprised but hugged back, desperately needing the comfort and guidance.

Rosette continued, now speaking into his shoulder.

"I was foolish enough just to believe you both didn't mix well…Keith, I have come to realize is …a psychotic! He's crazy…" Chrno felt the warmth of her breath as she sighed into his shoulder.

"I don't know how I fell in love with him…"

At this, Chrno let her go, refusing to let her see his eyes. He turned his back to her.

"Rosette, you're concert is in a couple of days."

Rosette nodded even though he couldn't see her. He turned around and stared at his hands.

"What are you going to do?" He looked up, his amber eyes looking straight into blue. Rosette's heart skipped a beat at the forwardness in his voice and in his gaze.

"…I don't know. This situation has become beyond my control, I don't know what that man will do next."

"Yes, Rosette, he is a _grown man_." Chrno's voice was very stern. Rosette avoided his gaze. Reaching into her pocket, she dialed a number on her cellphone.

"….Dave?"

"I have something to tell you..and it may take awhile…"

Chrno took a seat on Marie's bed, figuring they'd both be there awhile, _and_ miss Micheal Finnigan's party.

* * *

**Yes this is a replacement for chapter 12 that I got rid of a year ago. It's short but..**

**Drama ahead!! (Swear on my …um…)**

**So yes, after all this time, I would GLADLY except any reviews…and if you feel like yelling at me for not updating for so long…just ..don't post at all!! x)**

**Next chapter:**

"**WHAT happened to Keith?" **


	13. Playing Games

**Oh mah gosh…I'm** **ACTUALLY updating!! And yeah, this story isn't not updated everyday cuz…I have my own hectic life to deal with. xD**

**Oh yeah, don't own anything and check out my other Chrno Crusade oneshot that I just added, "Just a Little Comfort"**

**Well no more blah-blah from me today. :)**

* * *

Rosette ran along the track in the hot weather. The question that plagued many was why it was so _hot_ in the middle of _January. _In truth, Rosette could have cared less, and worry about her upcoming concert plagued her mind. She worried at home, with Chrno, and now at school, during gym class. Much to the other students' disappointment, the gym teacher had decided to take advantage of the sunny weather and threaten the students point deduction if they didn't sprint as fast as they could around the schools track.

Rosette wasn't complaining though, she had time to think and simply worry some more. How would she face Keith? She hadn't even officially ended it with him yet. She knew she had to. He hurt her! But…she was afraid that somehow someone would blame her for it happening, but she was also afraid of how he would react. Most likely in a non-peaceful manner. Should she do it before the concert or after? Would it affect future performance? Would he even show up for their concert?

These questions invaded her mind and she could feel herself slowing down. She felt someone begin running along beside her.

A charming young man was running next her, not quite looking at her but had a strange grin on his face. His brown hair bounced along with his strides. Rosette cleared her throat, waiting. He turned his head, and his eyes widened, as if seeing her for the first time. The stranger gave her a dazzling smile and Rosette felt the corners of her mouth lifting up as well.

Chrno watched this happening, a few yards behind the two. He felt resentment for the boy bounding along beside her. They were friends too. He just never informed the other guy of his interest of Rosette. Not that he was sure of that fact himself.

He watched as "Chris" continued to flirt with his neighbor but also noticed that behind her polite responses, she was still worrying.

Chrno sighed to himself, knowing what was worrying her. She had confided in him very late the night before. She had originally called to check on how his head felt but soon her anxieties flowed into the conversation, and Chrno was left feeling extreme anguish about her as well when they finally ended their conversation.

"So, you going out with anyone?" the stranger, named Chris, asked daringly.

Rosette lit up at the question and pedaled backwards towards Chrno. She suddenly slung her arms around his shoulder, stopping both of their running and surprising Chrno.

"Yup. This guy right here." Rosette smiled real big but Chris remained unfazed.

"Oh really? I remember Chrno once telling me he though relationships and love were pointless, not for real life." He gave Chrno a challenging look. Chris had also stopped his run and planted his feet in front of the two.

"Oh, please Chris, grow up. That was a long time ago."

"Do your beliefs change that quickly? Got commitment issues?" he answered Chrno jokingly, but he could see the challenge and daring in his eyes.

Rosette sighed.

"Ah, geez, I actually thought you were a nice guy for a second there. Lay off," and with that, Rosette continued her run, leaving the two of them behind. Chrno gave Chris a glare and started running as well just as the gym teacher was coming to threaten them.

Chrno caught up with Rosette and for a few minutes she did not notice and he watched as Chris jogged by them, along with numerous other students.

Rosette sighed and turned her azure eyed gaze to Chrno.

"Chrno, what's going to happen if I break up with him? I know I have to do it to his face. Since I told Dave the truth, he wants to do it for me and even throw Keith out of the band but…" Chrno stopped her babbling by grabbing her wrist, both of them stopping their run for a second time. He looked her straight in the eye, his look never faltering.

"Rosette…relax. Forget about the band for a minute. If you're that afraid of how Keith will react and what the outcome will be, _I'll _be there." He gave her a reassuring grin. Rosette nodded, not sure how to respond.

Wait, of course she was.

"Oh Chrno, thank you!" and she then proceeded to giving him a suffocating hug. A few other people stopped to snicker or 'aw.' Others simply kept running past.

"Ok, I realize you're grateful, Ro-"

"Rosette! Chrno! Stop smothering each other this instant and run ten extra laps! You lose 10 points on today's performance. The rest of the class inside!" The gym teacher bellowed. She had surveyed the whole scene starting with the two's confrontation with Chris. That would teach them to keep their social life out of gym class.

Rosette merely let go of her hold on Chrno and began running again, this time bounding much more happily. Chrno chuckled to himself, and went to catch up.

* * *

After school, Chrno and Rosette were on their way to the apartment building.

"Hey, guys, uh, Chrno! Rosette!" Both teens turned around to see a sober Michael Finnigan running towards them. Chrno sighed, rolling his eyes.

When he caught up to them, he bent down for a second to catch his breath but soon stood up looking at both of their waiting expressions. He pointed dramatically at the both of them.

"You guys weren't at mah party!" he yelled accusingly.

Chrno rolled his eyes for a second time. He couldn't stand this guy.

"Yeah, we got a little sidetracked…that night." Chrno answered, feeling the leftover bump on his head. Michael pouted.

"I told everyone I invited someone from 'Nuns with Machine Guns'…but when you didn't show up, I looked like an idiot."

A look of pity crossed Rosette's eyes. Chrno saw it and sighed.

"But…" Michael continued, "that's not what I came here to talk to you about. Ya see, I'm throwing a second party. With more people, more fun, and more alcohol! Will you guys come? You can be the guests of honor, the girl from a band and her boyfriend!" He looked at them expectantly hoping they would accept his rather childish idea.

Rosette didn't bother to correct him and immediately nodded.

"When is it?" she asked brightly.

"Tonight!"

"Alright, we'll be there!" Excitement danced in Rosette's eyes. Michael then bid them farewell and ran back to wherever he came from.

The two stood there watching his retreat.

Chrno took a look at Rosette's face and saw that she had brightened up. He knew there was no way to get out of the party tonight.

"Rosette, remember when you promised to stay by me at the last party?"

She gave a big smile.

"Don't worry, that didn't change…but…it sounds like it's going to be pretty crowded and…"

"Fine, you can do whatever you want, but if I can't find you or something really bad happens…Marie will kill me." Chrno's face darkened at the thought.

Rosette just laughed at the expression on his face and they both continued their walk back home.

* * *

Chrno and Rosette stood at the front steps of the Finnigan property. Yells, booming music, crashes, and very loud chatter could be heard through the door. Rosette wore a bright and exuberant outfit like she had originally planned and Chrno blushed at the skin that it exposed. He thought for the dozen-th time of how bad of an idea this was. Mainly, he was just worried for Rosette's safety and he never enjoyed himself at parties anyway.

Rosette gave him an excited grin and opened the door, not bothering with the doorbell. The flood of sounds engulfed them as soon as they entered and they were immediately met with not-too sober sounding greetings. Michael Finnigan walked up to them, obviously not yet drunk.

"Hey guys, you came this time!" Michael's place was huge, his parents both successful lawyers. Although it was a rather large place, it was still cramped with all of the people who had come. And the party was just starting. He handed them both a cup with what Chrno assumed was an alcoholic beverage…of some sort. He was pretty lame when it came to this stuff. Chrno of course immediately declined but Rosette gladly excepted the drink.

Chrno refused to watch her down it.

Michael introduced them to a few of his friends who it seemed, he had made bets with.

"See, I told you I'd invited her! Even her boyfriend!" Michael's friends seemed impressed, all handing him the money they owed him, except for one.

"That's her boyfriend?" he said.

Rosette and Chrno didn't answer, for it had become a daily misconception. They both in reality appeared very bored and Rosette was itching to socialize. She spoke up.

"Yeah, sure, whatever, hey Michael you don't mind if I go and get another drink do you?" she asked.

"Not at all." he said, still waiting for money from the one guy that had still not given it up. She smiled at Chrno and shook her head, telling him she didn't need an escort.

He watched her weave through the crowd and quickly disappear. He turned around to see the friend that had ignored Michael's nags was staring him down.

"You guys really together?" he asked again.

Chrno shrugged.

"Not really, she's just moved into next door to me. We hang out a lot, that's all."

The other guy got up and took a step towards him.

"Name's Steve, and I think you don't deserve a chick like that." Steve challenged.

"Are you deaf? I just told you that we're not together." Chrno rolled his eyes.

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I hooked up with her tonight?" He gave a hard look at Steve when he said this. Would he?

"I guess not."

Hearing this, Steve took a step around him, disappearing in the direction Rosette had. He sighed.

Nearby, a group of girls had been watching. They giggled profusely at the troubled Chrno, obviously hoping he would talk to one of them. He instead rolled his eyes at them and walked past them. He was rather bored, and wondered when Rosette would want to leave. A few recognizable acquaintances from school stopped by Chrno to chat for a bit but never stayed for long. He didn't mind much.

He made his way to a large window that overlooked the street Michael lived on. It was a nice street, expensive houses lining the road. A few other lonely souls hung around him as well, but he never bothered to engage in conversation.

After quite awhile, Chrno decided it was time to check up on Rosette for he felt the energy of the party quickly rising. He couldn't help worrying for her, especially with her reckless nature.

Leaving the safe place by the window, he weaved himself through the dancing and shouting crowd, dodging jerking limbs, swinging hips and numerous spills. A few quite attractive girls tried to lure him into conversation or into dancing with them but he politely declined each time.

He found Rosette at the center of attention (of course) smack dab in between two very happy looking guys. He inwardly groaned, wondering what would be the outcome of her situation. One of the guys was Steve and as he wanted, he was getting very close to Rosette. She seemed considerably drunk and was having herself quite a bit of fun just dancing with the people around her.

Steve then decided it was time for his own fun and led her away from the center of the crowd, and moved her to a more secluded corner. He got closer to her and she resisted, however failing miserably through her drunkenness. His eyes slanted and he pushed her harder into the wall, squeezing her wrist. Rosette's eyes widened, from fear or remembrance, Chrno was not sure. It was then he decided it was time to step in. He made his way, finally finding his way right next to Steve. Steve, by now, had himself dangerously close to Rosette's panicking face.

Putting a firm hand on his shoulder, Chrno gave a warning.

"She doesn't want it, you better leave her be." Rosette gave a sigh of relief when she caught sight of Chrno's stern expression but Steve remained unfazed. Tightening his grip on her forearm and causing her to wince, he laughed at Chrno's threat.

"Whatcha gonna do if I don't, shortie?" In reply, Chrno grit his teeth and pulled his arm back, punching Steve straight in the stomach. For a second, the impact caused the breath to get knocked out of him and he released Rosette. Unsuccessfully maintaining her balance, she toppled over knocking over a table in the process. The drinks on the fallen table spilled over, soaking a few people that had been standing by. A few angry shouts erupted over the music and party sounds. Helping Rosette from her position on the ground, he guided her towards the exit, the angry sounds following.

Just as they had both unsteadily ran through the door, and they had reached the front steps, he felt himself fly forward, the back of his head suddenly pounding. His face painfully collided with the pavement and cursing to himself, he looked at the top of the front stairs to see a smirking Steve and a Rosette that was now just as pissed as himself.

"Hey! Back off!" she angrily shouted at the smirking teen a few steps above her. He looked over, just noticing her.

"Heh, looks like I can get my share of fun now." He started making his way down the stairs towards her but was interrupted by a frustrated yell from the entrance to the house.

It was Michael Finnigan.

"Hey! Steve! You never paid me! And goddamnit, lay off of that girl! You're always an asshole when you start drinking…" he grumbled the last part and looked to see an injured Chrno at the foot of the front steps.

"You got Chrno too! Geez, Steve, you've gone too fa-" In the middle of Michael's yelling, Chrno had taken the time to grab a few stones from the front yard and had started pelting them, aiming for Steve's head. By then, Rosette had fled to her savior's side, attempting to stand up straight.

"**Agh!** Shut up, Mich-**Yah!**-ael! Hey! Pipsqueak, you better-**Ack!**" Chrno's assaults continued to interrupt Steve's threats.

"Rosette, run!" He grabbed her hand and they ran across the front yard, Steve continuing to bellow endless threats and insults. Michael called after him, telling him he would never be invited to another party of his.

* * *

"So, would you rather, get into another fight with Steve, or be stuck in a room with our gym teacher for a whole night?" Rosette asked Chrno with a giggle.

Chrno contemplated the question, twisting the chains of the swing he was sitting on.

After their escape from Michael Finnigan's party, the two had dashed into the center of town, not wanting to waste the rest of their night and also wanting find a place for the alcohol in Rosette's system to wear off. Rosette had excitedly pointed out a playground and Chrno couldn't resist the look on her face. It was only a bit after midnight and they decided to kill time asking each other personal questions and playing games they hadn't played for years. At the moment, they were playing a round of "Would you rather…?" They were currently stationed at the swing set, idly twisting the seats and moving themselves back and forth.

"So, Chrno, what's your answer?" Rosette asked again, less patiently this time.

"I'd have to say I'd rather get into a fight with that jerk again. He was pretty big but who knows what could happen spending a night with that gym teacher…who knows what she would deduct points for." She laughed at his response and kicked her shoes off, revealing surprisingly small, delicate feet.

Chrno smiled, enjoying her company. A comfortable silence followed and they both continued to slightly swing, dragging their feet on the woodchips beneath them.

"Chrnoooo, it's _your _turn." Rosette interrupted the silence.

He looked up at the dark sky, 'hmm'ing.

"Okay, how 'bout this?...Would you rather…get caught singing?...or…I dunno…naked?"

He grinned devilishly. She playfully threw a shoe at him, missing.

"Well the answer is quite obvious, singing, of course…but who would catch me?" She squinted suspiciously.

"Umm…me!" Chrno answered, throwing the shoe she had thrown back by her foot.

"Well then, I change my answer…naked of course!" she gave a vaguely naughty grin, and Chrno gave a nervous chuckle. She gasped.

"Did I possibly make _the _Chrno lose his composure?" Rosette asked, appearing intrigued but he could see a sparkle in her eye.

"You imagined it." He answered, crossing his arms stubbornly and standing up. He opened an eye to see her reaction. She was not sitting at the swing. He whirled around just in time to see her pounce on him, poking his sides.

"Admit it!" she laughed, appalled to hear laughter escaping Chrno's mouth.

"Chrno…could you be…ticklish?" A devilish grin spread across her face just like one had on Chrno's face a few moments ago.

"Never!" he excalimed, getting out from under her. He ran towards a clearing, hoping she wouldn't continue her attack. His inner pleading was in vain for she appeared once again in front of him. But as she took an unsteady step, inwardly cursing the effects of alcohol, she fell into Chrno's unprepared arms. Her weight toppled both of them over and Rosette lay atop his chest. But as he made a move to get up, she shook her head and gave him a sneaky grin.

"Now, Chrno," she whispered, "I've got a new game…"

Chrno's heart raced and Rosette could feel the blush forming on her cheeks but she continued.

"What would you do, if I…kissed you?" she let her lips hover above his, but waited for an answer.

He grinned and looked into the deep blue eyes staring back at him.

"I guess you'd just have to see…"

**

* * *

**

**Oh.My.Gosh. That was so sappy/corny, I love it!! xD I'm surprised that I even GOT reviews for the last chapter…Don't worry people…I'll continue to update from now on.**

**Don't forget to check out my other fic! 'Just a Little Comfort' **

**Now…comments? Praise? Criticism? I would love a review! ;) **


	14. Issues

Hello all. I feel rather cheery because I have actual excuses this time for not updating for a bit. x  
1) I went to the shore for 6 days

2) My computer crashed and it took forever to get it reformatted

Oh and by the way, this is a sort of...preview of the next chapter. I'm gathering ideas and I'm sure I'll have chapter 15 for you soon.

* * *

A ringing awoke Rosette from her deep sleep. At first she tried to ignore it but the shrill ringing of her nearby cell phone was persistent. Groaning, she rubbed her eyes and got up, to find herself in her bed. For a moment she forgot how she got there but quickly the realization of what had happened last night washed upon her. She reached over to her nightstand and flipped open the phone, annoyed to see from her alarm clock that it was roughly around seven in the morning.

"Hello?"

"Rosette."

"Dave?"

"In case you haven't realized, _dear sister_, our concert is tomorrow!"

Rosette's heart skipped a beat and Dave heard her swear under her breath.

"I totally knew that." Dave sighed impatiently at her response.

"And I'm very glad that you were here with us to assist with preparations."

"Oh, Dave, I'm sorry...a lot has-"

"I know a lot has happened and I would do anything to help you sort everything out, but..."

Rosette felt immediate guilt.

"I know, I know, this is your dream, your big break. I promise I'll do my best not to ruin this anymore."

"Well, thanks for the understanding, Rosette, but can you start by getting your butt over here? The manager is giving me a headache and-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" She hung up.

Rosette let the phone fall out of her grasp onto the floor and she fell back lazily onto her bed.

She thought of last night and blushed with silent happiness.

But boy, did she have a headache!

* * *

Chrno was in panick mode. No, worse.

Chrno...was in love.

* * *

Hope you stick around for the next chapter! (Even more drama to come!) :


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